Woodberry Down Regeneration - Sustainable Hackney's view in response to the Climate Crisis!

Phase 5 of Woodberry Down Regenation is being consulted on at the moment. You have an opportunity to have your say on Sat 21st March at The Redmond Centre or on Sat 28th March between 10 am - 1pm outside Sainsbury's local. If neither date works for you, contact your local councillor and write to the Hackney Planning Department.

Sustainable Hackney's view is shaped by our response to the Climate Crisis, the London Borough of Hackney adopted a Climate Action Plan (CAP) in 2023.  One of the tenets of the CAP is, if at all possible; to avoid demolition and new build because the carbon footprint of each is very large.   Instead to retain, renew, re-use and adapt, if only partially; to extend if necessary to improve amenity and meet space standards.

The onus is on the construction industry to address this issue.

Woodberry Down Estate is one of the biggest regeneration projects in the country.

Social and affordable housing is cross-funded by the sale of private accommodation.

 Early in the 2000s Hackney Council signed and agreement with Berkeley Homes, subsequently extended to the whole estate, to carry out the first phase of the work on the basis of total demolition and reconstruction.  Little existing biodiversity was spared.

Much has changed in the last twenty years, not least the urgent need to address the climate crisis. Sustainable Hackney (SH) was led to believe that the agreement with Berkeley Homes would be renegotiated this year.  This has not been the case.  The Council maintain: “our existing contract with Berkeley Homes is comprehensive and will cover all current and future phases of the project”.

However even without having sight of this contract or any Schedules of Conditions of the existing buildings there is little evidence that there has been an attempt to make a balanced and objective assessment of the current building stock in terms of carbon footprint or the circular economy.  Nor is there biodiversity compliance. The Greater London Authority’s report on the outline master plan for the final phases, which requires further information on a number aspects of the proposed work, states that biodiversity net gain should be improved to at least the mandatory 10%.  The outline master plan for phases 5 to 8, recently voted through at the Hackney Planning sub-committee, shows a biodiversity net loss of 9%.

As an organization that, in its many dimensions, is committed to campaigning for measures to address the Climate Crisis, Sustainable Hackney urge Hackney Council and Berkeley Homes to apply the Council’s Climate Action Plan to all aspects and phases of Woodberry Down Regeneration.