Council consults on Tyssen Street greening as campaigners cry foul over play area

Low Traffic Hackney backs new trees and benches at Hoxton Trust garden but disputes the council’s account of what happens to the car bays

Hackney Council has opened a consultation on plans to redesign the courtyard behind Hoxton Trust Community Garden on Tyssen Street, as part of the wider Connecting Hoxton project.

The scheme, announced on 26 June, would bring 11 new trees, new flowerbeds, wider footpaths and a clearer walking and cycling route to the estate. All 26 existing parking spaces would be kept but moved away from the central courtyard towards Cordelia House, freeing up space for planting.

The play area, currently sited on the corner of the car park, would shift to an expanded green space nearby, with new swings and a see-saw. Older play equipment near Cordelia House, which the council describes as underused, would be removed.

The council said the changes responded to feedback from residents, who had asked for more trees and plants, traffic calming to protect pedestrians, extra seating and no cut to the number of parking spaces.

Campaigners object

The plans have drawn criticism from Low Traffic Hackney, a local campaign group focused on reducing motor traffic in the borough.

In a statement published on 29 June, the group welcomed several elements of the scheme, including the new trees, benches and wider footpath, but objected to the demolition of the existing play area to make way for new parking spaces.

The group called the council’s description of the change as simply moving parking bays, rather than creating new ones, misleading. It argued that the council was not excavating the existing bays and carrying them to a new location; instead, old bays were being turned into green space while a separate community asset, the play area, was being demolished to build new parking elsewhere.

“The false premise behind the proposal is that in order for the community to acquire additional green space it must pay for it by sacrificing valuable space for the community elsewhere,” the statement said.

A question of space

Low Traffic Hackney also raised broader concerns about how space is used, arguing that cars were used by relatively few people for a small part of the day, while a play area served the whole community throughout the day.

The group cited a figure suggesting 79 per cent of households in the immediate area do not own a car, and said public realm decisions in the borough remained disproportionately shaped by a minority of car-owning residents.

Rather than opposing the scheme outright, the group proposed alternatives, including converting the space to cycle parking instead of car parking, or using it for greenery, a rain garden or seating. It called for a 50 per cent net reduction in all-purpose bays, through a mix of removals and conversions to disabled-only, loading and electric-charging bays.

Have your say

The consultation is open until Monday 27 July. Residents can respond via an online form, by emailing consultation@hackney.gov.uk, or by phone on 020 8356 3000.

Hackney Council and Low Traffic Hackney were approached for comment.