Hackney is one of London’s most exciting boroughs and our practice has been lucky enough to be involved in a number of studies to help shape its future. Through our borough-wide Characterisation study, our involvement in the Shoreditch Area Action Plan and the Dalston Town Centre Public Realm study, we have begun to understand some of its unique opportunities and characteristics. 

NLA’s Hackney On location: The Future of Town Centres conference set out both the challenges and opportunities for the future of their town centres, focussing on Dalston and Hackney Central. Both Mayor Philip Glanville and Rickardo Hyatt, Group Director of Climate, Homes and Economy for Hackney Council set the scene for the more detailed talks and discussions about each town centre, highlighting that over the last 15 years, Hackney has arguably had more social and economic change than anywhere else in the UK. The Mayor emphasised that the entrepreneurial spirit, engagement of local residents and diversity of the offer in each town centre were key drivers for the unique identity of each place. 

At the conference, we presented the Dalston Town Centre Public Realm, Movement and Permeability Study by Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners, Studio Weave and Urban Flow for Hackney Council. Dalston is a busy and active town centre with many competing demands on its streets and spaces. It is strategically positioned on one of London's historic radial high streets, and today provides a key route in and out of London along the A10. These two important roles; supporting the commercial life of the Borough and providing access to and from central London, inevitably lead to conflicts in relation to different movement types and different users of spaces.  At present, the impact of vehicles on Kingsland High Street in particular, but also Dalston Lane, hinders Dalston's ability to fulfil its role as a comfortable and appealing town centre. Dalston's public spaces are notable for the active involvement of local community organisations which help to maintain spaces and support events and activities, but at the same time, the area remains relatively underserved in terms of green spaces, with no large areas within a 10-minute walk.  This unique set of circumstances shaped the emphasis of the proposals within our work.  

Our findings highlight the value of the public realm in Dalston and strengthen messages from other speakers about the diverse identities and creative opportunities the public realm in Dalston helps to support.  Key assets include the historic Ridley Road Market and the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden which both required careful thought about how they could be most successfully integrated, and their position enhanced in a future plan for Dalston. 

Our work sets out a vision, a set of key principles and a spatial strategy for future improvements to Dalston's public realm, movement and permeability. Example concepts are established for key points in Dalston which are designed to help illustrate the principles and objectives identified for the town centre. These are not intended to be designs, but instead to demonstrate a broad approach that can be applied at appropriate sites as funding becomes available and/or development strategies allow. Our study supports the preparation of the new town centre strategy SPD prepared by the Council to help steer the overall growth and development of the town centre.