New Ward Forum to Replace Neighbourhood Committee

The Shoreditch Neighbourhood Committee, which cut across, Hoxton, Haggerston, De Beauvoir and Queensbridge wards, held its last meeting on Thursday 19 April and will be replace by 19 new ward forums.

The new ward forums will focus on local issues and improvement plans for the ward will be developed and will provide a starting point for setting the agenda.  These improvement plans will also become the vehicle through which residents and councillors can work together to focus efforts to make a difference in the area.

The date of the first meeting of the new Hoxton ward forum is yet to be announced but full details will be published in Hackney Today, on the Council's website.  We will also use emails to inform residents of the first meeting where appropriate.

Also keep checking our blog and twitter stream for more news.

2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Get Involved

If you still haven't applied for tickets for the 2012 Olympic Games, there is still time.  Tickets went on sale again on 11 May and will close again today, 17 May.  If you don't manage to submit an application, don't worry, there will be three more rounds before the Games start.  For more information go to the London 2012 website here.

If you're not successful at getting tickets for the Olympic and Paralympics Games, there are still lots of ways that you can get involved as there are still a number of events taking place in Hackney and around London.

Just a few are listed below.  For full details, click the links.

• To see how Hackney has changed  in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, see the Mapping the Change exhibition at Hackney Museum. 
• The 5th Field Day celebration will take place at Victoria Park on 2 June.  Find out how you can get tickets on the website here. 
• The Shoreditch Fringe will be a seven week festival taking place around Shoreditch between 6 July and 27 August.  Find out more on their website here.
• See four new films premiering at the Hackney Picturehouse.  The films will be simulcast to 50 cinemas across the UK. For info click here.
• There will be a range of Big Dance events both in Hackney and across London.  More information is on the Big Dance website here. 
• To mark 50 years of Jamaican independence, join the celebration of Jamaican music and culture at Mabley Green on 15 July.
• The Scipmylo Festival will take place between 27 July and 12 August on Hackney Marshes.  There will be a celebration of music, theatre, comedy and food.  Shows are ticketed by access to the site is free.  See the Scipmylo website for more information.
• One Hackney Festival will take place on 21 July to welcome the Olympic flame to the borough.  There will be a street parade culminating with an event in Clissold Park with special guests from Rio, Liverpool and Glasgow.  More information is available on the council website. 

For more information on events taking place in Hackney, visit the Hackney website or email the Olympic unit. You can also download 'Eveyone's Games', the Guide to the 2012 Olympic and Paralymic Games.

But most of all, have have fun and enjoy and let Hoxton Councillors know what you'll be up to through out the Games. You can tweet us at @welovehoxton. 

Space and Place Shaping Plan for Shoreditch

Hackney council is proposing a plan to shape Shoreditch and they are inviting your views and comments.

The council wants to know what Shoreditch residents, and people who work in Shoreditch, think about the design and character of the area. What should the balance be between the needs of pedestrians, cyclists an vehicles? Should more trees to planted,or should vehicle speed be reduced? What about parking and cycle schemes?

If you have views on a vision for Shoreditch why not have your say?

You can complete the survey online www.surveymonkey.com/spsps or call 020 8356 3468 for more information.
The deadline for comments is 27 April.

Sainsbury's Granted a Premises Licence

Wednesday, 4th April, 2012, Licensing Sub Committee D took a decision to grant a Premises Licence to Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd at 245 Old Street, EC1V 9EY.

You can see all the details on the council website.

Deadline for Expressions of Interested for Hackney Weekend Catering Concessions is Approaching

Hackney Weekend will take place on 23 and 24 June.

It will be the largest event to ever take place in Hackney, with 50,000 people in attendance. There will also be an all star line-up which include With an all-star line-up, including international superstar Riahnnam, Plan B, Labrinth, Professor Green and Jay-Z.

It will also be a fantistic opportunity for catering businesses in Hackney as Central Catering Services, which has been awarded the tender for the provision of concessions, has reserved 20% of the tenders for Hackney-based businesses.

Local businesses interested in this opportunity can submit an expression of interest from local traders for one of the 10 pitches that are available, with a combined frontage of no more than 76m.

As is usual for a major event like this, all traders will need to satisfy stringent criteria with regard to environmental health and food safety, as well as complying fully with the event specification. Interested parties should visit the council website and complete the correct form, returning it to address detailed.
Click here for more details.

The deadline is 12 noon on Wednesday, 4 April.

Greener Hackney

The next Greener Hackney event, will take place between 10:30am and 2pm on 12th May in the Attic at the Hackney Picturehouse.

This will be a chance for green fingered residents to hear what the council and others have been up to on the sustainability front, to meet like minded people and share your thoughts and ideas about how we could better work together to make Hackney a greener place.

Please put the date in your diaries and others know about the event.

Come and Talk to the Met Police Commissioner

If you have questions, comments or concerns that you have about policing in Hoxton, you can now speak directly to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, who will be in Hackney on Monday 28 March.  He will be speaking at Stoke Newington School between 7 and 8pm and Hackney residents are invited to share your views.

Places will be limited and allocated on a first come first served basis so if you would like to go, you will need to arrive in plenty of time.

To get there from Hoxton, take route 141 from New North Road.  Other buses routes from other parts of Hackney include route 393, 476 and 341.

Jobs at the Olympics

There's good news if you are 16 or over and looking for a job at the Olympics. Hackney Council is offering support to all Hackney residents age 16+ to apply for Olympic Games-time jobs. From now until the end of March, Hackney Ways into Work employment advisers will be running job application sessions at Springboard, The Levy Centre, 18 – 24 Lower Clapton Road, E5 0PD. The centre will be operating 3 days per week: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays. Hackney residents wishing to book application sessions should call the Ways into Work team on 020 8356 5700 (Olympic Jobs Hotline).

Olympic Legacy for Hackney Residents

Even if you have not been successful at getting tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games, Hackney residents have already benefited from the Olympics.

At this week's Shoreditch Neighbourhood Committee, residents learned that as well as have a one in four chance of getting tickets for the Hackney Weekend 2012, Hackney Council has also bought 500 tickets for the Olympic Games. These will go to both young and older people in the borough.

Hackney residents over 50 years of age have also benefited from the New Age Games, a free activities programme, offering 20 sports including aerobics, fencing and archery.

Hackney residents have been able to 48 hour priority for number of test events.  More test events will be held so even more residents will be able to see test events in the Olympic park before the London 2012 Games start.  For further information on tickets to test events, read Hackney Today in the coming weeks.

The Olympic Torch will come to Hackney on 21 July and will be celebrated with the One Hackney Festival.  More information will be posted on this blog and on the council website.

Some Hackney residents have successfully applied to work in the Olympic Park during the London 2012 Games.  Vacancies have not yet been filled so see the Hackney website if you would like a London 2012 job.

Further benefits including a new Hackney Park on the edge of the Olympic Park, new changing rooms and an Adidas Zone on Mabley Green as well as new changing rooms on Hackney Marshes.

If you have been successful at applying for tickets, Hoxton Councillors hope that you have an enjoyable time.  Please share you stories and pictures of the London 2012 Games and test events by leaving a comments or tweeting a picture to @welovehoxton.

Radio 1 Hackney Weekend

The Radio 1 Hackney Weekend will take place on Hackney Marshes from 23 to 24 June 2012.  Headline acts include Leone Lewis, Florence and the Machine, Tinie Tempah and Plan B.  It will be the biggest ever free-ticketed event with 100,000 tickets available.

There will be six stages, including the Radio 1 Main Stage, the 1Xtra Arena, Dance Arena and the BBC Introducing Stage.  To celebrate local talent, the Introducing Stage will feature events from East London.

For more information on ticketing and the line-up please visit the BBC website here.

Hackney Weekend will be a great opportunity for  Hackney residents and business.  There will be workshops  at the R1 Academy in Hackney, open DJ sessions, visits from top artists and DJs and 20% of food concessions within the site will go to Hackney businesses.  50%  of tickets will be allocated to Hackney residents so be sure to register online.

To apply for tickets you must be over 16 years old by 23 June 2012.  Once registered online, you can apply for tickets by phone or online using computers at any of the boroughs libraries, youth centres or schools.

If you are interested in becoming a Hackney volunteer visit the Hackney website here.  The closing date for applications is 13 February.

If you are an East London act or if you know an East London act that would like to perform on the Introduction Stage, you can upload your music to the BBC website here.

London Prepares International Diving Event

If you are one of the many people who have been unable to get tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games don't despair.  Tickets for the London Prepares diving event at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park from 20 to 26 February. Full price tickets cost £10-30, £5-15 for young people and seniors.

Tickets are available at Ticket Master.

New Tenant Participation Newsletter for Hackney Homes Residents

Hackney Homes has launched a new newsletter dedicated to resident participation.  Whether it is getting involved in scrutiny, signing up to the Hackney Homes Community of Enterprise website or starting a community project, you can read about it all here.

Statement from Meg Hillier MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch

"I am shocked and horrified by the events in Hackney.

"The thugs behind this need to be dealt with by the police.

"Hackney has seen such progress in the last decade. We must condemn the violence. Hackney is a commnunity of diversity and tolerance and we need to make sure that these are the characteristics Hackney is known by, not the actions of some mindless, violent thugs.

"If people have grievances we must use the democratic process to resolve them."

"I have spoken to the Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Bending who I will be meeting urgently. I will also be meeting community leaders and business representatives later today to discuss the clean up and how we rebuild the community"

If you have any thoughts and suggestions about where we go from here after such awful events please let me know

Meg

Statement from Jennette Arnold AM

Over the past two nights, following similar disturbances in Tottenham and Enfield, Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest have all borne witness to devastating looting and violence.

Last Thursday in Tottenham, Mark Duggan, a father of four, lost his life during a police operation. Mr Duggan’s family subsequently organised a peaceful protest on Saturday only for it to be hijacked by a few thugs leading to widespread violence in the Tottenham constituency. I added my voice and support to David Lammy MP in Tottenham who condemned the opportunistic violence.

As the violence extended across London into Sunday and Monday, we moved well beyond any relationship between this violence and the death of Mark Duggan as a minority of opportunistic people used the unrest as an excuse to riot in their own communities, wreaking havoc on the streets of Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest.We have all been deeply shocked and angered by these events.

I have also been moved by the stories of heroism that are emerging and the work, foresight and sense of community of those taking part in local clean-up operations. But what action should we take to deal with the immediacy of the crisis and to consider preventing a repetition?

I have had discussions with police and community leaders in Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest. I have raised a number of concerns, witnessed Metropolitan Police senior staff willing to accept outside help, and was inspired by the commitment from all parties to moving forward together. Some had seen it all before and thought they would never witness it again; others were shocked to see for the first time scenes more redolent of an urban war zone.

It is easy to assume we have quick fixes. There has been much criminal activity and the police will, quite rightly, investigate that thoroughly.

But there are broader and more complex issues here. My position is this:

Enforce the law -- people I have spoken to do not want any 'no-go' areas for the police in London; criminal behaviour must be dealt with using the full force of the law.

Let the Independent Police Complaints Commission do it's job -- we argued for this body to exist as an alternative to the police service investigating itself. They need time to assemble the facts surrounding the death of Mark Duggan and to make recommendations.

Adopt economic policies that support local people -- the recession has left some people facing real hardship and there are concerns about social dislocation. We need policies that will enable investment and growth, rather than a focus on what will be the next area to be cut.

And we the community must continue with our message that we will not stand for this. We will work to bring the perpetrators to justice – they do not speak for us. We live in wonderful communities with strong senses of solidarity- we will not allow this to drag us down.

Jennette Arnold OBE AM

Hackney Mayor Jules Pipe responds to last night's events.

Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney, said: "I am appalled by the events of last night. These were people bent on violence who attacked not just property and local businesses but put residents in fear of their lives. The Council has cleared away all the debris from last night and Hackney is going about its business, but if we are to avoid a repeat of last night, I am urging families across London to make sure they know where their children are and to support the police in identifying perpetrators.

“The Council's cleaners were on the streets throughout the night and had cleared away all the debris, apart from a few burnt out cars, by 7.30am and I would like to pay tribute to them for their hard work. I would also like to thank the several hundred residents and volunteers who turned up at Hackney Town Hall this morning offering to help clean up the borough. This shows overwhelming generosity and community spirit and many were keen to go and help in other parts of London when it was clear the clean up in Hackney was already complete.”

Hoxton Hall Wins Heritage Lottery

Hoxton Hall theatre has been awarded £207,000 Heritage Lottery Funding to help restore and preserve its Grade II listed building.

Hoxton Councillors are delighted for Hoxton Hall as this money will now be used to help retain this much loved venue.  it will also mean the management will be able to seek further funding to improve community engagement activities.  

You can read more about Hoxton Hall's successful bid here.

Referendum - 5 May Election

There will be a nation-wide referendum on the parliamentary voting system on 5 May and every registered voter will have the opportunity decided whether changes should be made or if it should remain the same.

A referendum asks you to vote yes or no to a proposal. For this referendum, you will receive a ballot paper with this question: At present, the UK uses the 'first past the post' system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should the 'alternative vote' system be used instead?

To find our about the reasons to vote 'No' visit the No Campaign website for detail of why they think we should continue using the first past the post system. 

The campaigners for a 'Yes' vote have set out their reason they think we should change to the AV system on their website here.

If more people vote 'yes' than 'no' in the referendum, then the 'alternative vote', or AV, system will be used for future parliamentary elections.

There will be no elections for councillors in Hackney on this day however, it is still important that everyone registered to vote does so.

If you are unsure if you are eligible to vote, you can find out here.

If you are eligible, but are not registered to vote, you need to register to vote by 14 April.
If you are registered, but would like to apply for a postal or proxy vote, please see the ways to vote page on the council's website.

You can read more about the referendum on the About My Vote website or watch the video from their website.

Have Your Say on Scrutiny

Scrutiny plays an important role in the development of better policies and improving performance, and can hold the Council and outside agencies to account, including police and the health service.

Last year's survey found that making the borough safer was the top priority, so one of the Scrutiny Commissions completed a review of how the council and police are working together to address gun and knife crime. Residents also said that education services were important, so a Commission reviewed local achievement at Key Stage 2.

What matters to you most locally? Fill in the short survey online and help to influence the work of Hackney Council's scrutiny commissions.



You can follow the work of the Community Safety and Social Inclusion Panel chaired by Councillors Carole Williams here and the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Panel chaired by Councillor Philip Glanville here.


Hackney Council Budget 2001/12

This week Hackney Council passed its budget amid protests against cuts.


There has been a great deal of publicity about council passing on government cuts and, on Wednesday 2 March,  Hackney was among 17 Council to set their budget for 2011/12 financial year. It was with heavy hearts that we voted for cuts. However, we are also pleased that we were able to set a budget that protects frontline service.  We are also pleased with what we have been able to achieve as a council over the past eight years.

Over those eight years, there were no protests about the council's proposals for the budget.  On the contrary. For eight years running Hackney Council, under the leadership of Jules Pipe, has set a budget without any service cuts.  In short, as a council we have invested in the future of this borough.  Previous budgets have invested in schools, housing, parks and borough roads and millions of pounds of savings have been ploughed back into improving services and making Hackney a better place to live.

It has been because of this council's prudent management of the budget in the last eight years that we were able to support  the 2011/12 budget which, although makes £44m of cuts, delivers front line services in a seamless way. Libraries will not be closed, children's centres and leisure services will remain open and youth facilities will remain unaffected.

In any other circumstances we would not have chosen to make any cuts in the council budget, however, when the coalition government announced the borough's grant settlement just prior to Christmas, we learned of the devasting impact that an 8.9% reduction in our funding would have across the borough. We were even more devastated to learn that, in real terms, that meant Hackney's budget would be reduced by 14%.

As publicly elected officials we had two choices. The first was to balance the budget and ensure that the impact on the residents of Hackney was minimised.  So, we worked with the Mayor to ensure a budget that would do no further harm to Hackney residents and which would protect front line services.

The second option that we were faced with was to set an illegal budget. However, that would have resulted in the council being unable to borrow and unable collect council tax. In addition, instead of having to find savings of £44m, we would be faced with having to find savings of £114m.  Meaning that there would be £114m less to spend on services.  The implications of such a decision for service delivery are evident.

We therefore supported the mayor's budget in order to protect front line services which included a decision to make cuts to senior officer roles, not to fill current vacancies and to cut agency staff.

Full details of the budget are available on the council's website here.

Five Facts about the 2011 Census

1. The 2011 Census is taking place in March and Royal Mail will begin sending out forms from 7 March. They will arrive in our letter boxes about a week later.
2. Forms should be completed on or as soon after the 27 March (Census Day) but they can in fact be completed and returned in advance.
3. If you have access to the internet, remember that you can complete the census online.
4. If there are more than 6 people in your household, you will need to order extra forms. The national helpline number will be printed on the first page of the census. They will be the first port of call for help.
5. If we don't get a very good response rate in Hackney, it could cost the borough hundreds of millions over the coming decade. The population figures are used as a basic factor in calculating the Revenue Support Grant, health and education funding and for other services.