Hackney On Location: The Future of Town Centres

On Location

Thursday 02 February 2023
09:00 - 15:00

J & L Gibbons

This NLA On Location conference presents the transformation of Hackney, updating on the future of Dalston and Hackney Central town centres.

Hackney is changing. Over the last 15 years, the borough has experienced more rapid social, economic, and cultural transformation than almost anywhere else in the UK, creating huge opportunities for residents and businesses, but leaving some feeling excluded from the prosperity it can bring. In Dalston and Hackney Central, two of Hackney’s fastest-growing town centres, the views of thousands of local people are now helping shape this change to ensure that local communities and businesses are the first to benefit.

Dalston is Hackney’s largest town centre, known for its cultural and social diversity and much-loved institutions like the historic Ridley Road market. A new town centre plan prepared with input from around 5,000 local people, sets out how the Council and private, third sector and community partners can deliver on these local priorities, using public land and assets to meet the need for genuinely affordable housing, and with a focus on protecting workspace to support Dalston’s thriving creative sector and varied business community.

Hackney Central is the heart of Hackney, a growing town centre where transport routes come together, with a diverse retail offer, a thriving night-time economy, and iconic and innovative cultural venues and businesses. Scope for 3,000 new jobs and 1,000 new homes has the potential to maximise Hackney Central’s growing reputation as a destination for culture. Centred around investment in key sites, improving public spaces and new transport infrastructure, these will again see local priorities delivered through innovative partnerships, co-creation with town centre stakeholders, and making the most of publicly owned land.