Hackney Council has launched an online survey about their redevelopment of the Tesco site at 55 Morning Lane in Hackney Central. We don’t trust the Council and there are big problems with their survey. But we still think it’s helpful for as many people as possible to fill it in because otherwise the Council will try to use the results to justify their plans to replace the current superstore with a much smaller Tesco and to fill the rest of the site with hundreds of private flats. Below, we explain what’s wrong with the Council’s survey and offer a guide to how to respond to it.
What’s wrong with the Council’s online survey
The survey does not mention the three key points about the Council’s plans for the site. They don’t tell us that they want to replace the current Tesco with a much smaller store (about the size of the Well Street Tesco). They don’t tell us that they plan to fill the site with hundreds of private flats that will be unaffordable to most people in Hackney. They don’t tell us that the parking on the site will be massively reduced.
The survey does not ask anything about the class backgrounds of the people who are filling it in. We know that people with different backgrounds and experiences of Hackney have different views on what they want built here. For example, we found that people from working-class backgrounds and people who identify as Black are more likely to prioritise keeping a big supermarket on the site than people from middle-class backgrounds and people who identify as White.
This is NOT a genuine consultation. The Council launched this consultation after they had already briefed the architects. And the architects will have already developed draft designs before it closes in two weeks time. If the Council genuinely cares about what people locally want, it will use the detailed research we in MOPS have done and that includes the views of thousands of local residents. The head architect admitted he has not even read the results of our research.
Advice on how to respond to the Council’s survey
Here’s a link to Hackney Council’s survey.
Question 1 asks what should the top three priorities be for a new development at 55 Morning Lane. If you want cheap housing and shopping put these in the priorities because the Council is looking for excuses to build private flats and downsize Tesco. Similarly, the Council wants to build tower blocks, to gentrify Hackney and to get rid of the car parking. So if you want something different, put that in the priorities.
Here’s two possible ways to fill in the three priorities based on what we have found most residents want.
Council housing at social rents
A supermarket of the same size as the current Tesco
No gentrification
Cheap housing and shopping (council housing and a big Tesco)
A development for local residents (homes for people on the waiting list, shops that provide products for the diversity of Hackney and provide good jobs for us)
A spacious development (no tower blocks or overly dense development, and genuine community spaces where all are welcome)
Question 2 asks about what public or community spaces you would you like to see included in the development and what would encourage you to visit the area more often. Although the question starts with the words “in addition to potential new housing and a supermarket”, it’s an open question so you can talk about them if that’s what matters to you. So if a big supermarket is why you visit the area, tell Hackney Council that. Or if you think the housing should be public not private, tell them that. Another approach is to connect public spaces with housing and shopping. For example, you can ask for gardens and children’s play areas for the social housing residents and places where the customers of a big supermarket can meet.
Question 3 shows a map and asks you to rank access points to the site. The map shows that there will be three very big new buildings on the site but does not explain what these will be or how tall they are going to be. This question is an opportunity to say something about these blocks for example, you could ask Hackney Council to explain to residents what these blocks are going to be and to consult us about them.
Question 4 asks what you would like to see happen at a redevelopment of 55 Morning Lane. It has some pictures – None of these relate to the most important new buildings that are planned – a smaller Tesco and hundreds of private flats. But there is an “Other” box which allows you to reject the options they give you and say whatever you want. You could write that you want the new space to be welcoming to people from all social class and ethnic backgrounds, like the current Tesco and car park are. Or you could talk about the need for space inside and around the blocks of flats, with balconies and communal areas for social housing tennants and shoppers.
morninglanepeoplesspace.org 