Redevelopment of Stoke Newington estate gets the go-ahead

Kings Crescent estate: Pic: Hackney Council

Nearly four hundred homes are to be built or refurbished on the Kings Crescent estate in Stoke Newington as part of Hackney Council’s award-winning regeneration programme.

The proposals received unanimous support from the Council’s Planning Committee last week, with work expected to begin in 2021, for completion in 2023.

Two-hundred and nineteen homes are scheduled for construction, and 174 due to be upgraded in the final phase of development at Kings Crescent Estate.

More than half are for “affordable social rent or shared ownership”, a Hackney Council spokesman confirmed.

Of the 219 to be built, 28 will become new council homes; the rest will help finance the development, with 75 homes for shared ownership and 116 for sale. Meanwhile, upgrades to the 174 existing homes include new balconies and lobby entrances.

The design also includes better public spaces and community facilities.

Artist’s Impression Pic: Hackney Council
Artist’s impression Pic: Hackney Council

According to the case officer’s report submitted to the planning sub-committee on Wednesday, the proposals were supported by the Kings Crescent Residents Steering Group.

Hackney Council did however receive 34 letters outlining objections. Concerns included the loss of existing views from neighbouring buildings, a sense of enclosure and being overlooked, and the impact on property prices.

Ajman Ali, Acting Director of Neighbourhoods and Housing, said: “Hackney is building. These plans will provide desperately needed new council homes for local people and those on our waiting list, as well as a huge investment in existing homes for tenants and leaseholders”.

“I’m proud that we’re putting these values into practice, working together with local people to invest in a new generation of social housing”.

The first phase of the project was completed in 2017, with 272 new homes built, and received international recognition as a leading light in combating the housing crisis.

Speaking in 2018 at the New London Architecture awards, Sadiq Khan said: “The King’s Crescent Estate is a great example of how estate regeneration can preserve existing diverse communities and support them through a period of change”.

Elsewhere in Hackney, the Colville Estate has been shortlisted for Housing Project of the Year at the 2019 Building Awards. The redevelopment will replace 434 homes with over 900 new properties, and is set for completion in 2028.

Between 2018 and 2022, Hackney Council estimate that 2000 homes will have been built or be under construction across the borough.

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