Greens accused of U-turn as they approve Woodberry Down ‘double decant’ to avoid £13.5m overrun

Hackney Council has approved the next phase of a major estate redevelopment set to deliver 5,500 new homes in total, but triggered a backlash over the prospect of council tenants having to move twice in the process.

The borough’s Green administration approved Phases 4 and 5 of the 30-year Woodberry Down regeneration at the first cabinet meeting chaired by new Mayor Zoë Garbett since last week’s local elections, held on 29 June.

Cllr Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, cabinet member for regeneration, planning and inclusive neighbourhoods, said the latest stage would deliver 511 “high-quality, sustainable homes [and] an exemplary new neighbourhood in the north west of the borough.”

The Phase 4 units comprise 90 homes for social rent (17.6 per cent) and 132 shared ownership homes (25.8 per cent), plus new commercial space and a public square on Woodberry Grove. The rest will be for private sale at market rate.

A scheme three decades in the making

First planned in the 1990s, Woodberry Down is led by a partnership of Hackney Council, Berkeley Homes, Notting Hill Genesis, the Woodberry Down Community Organisation (WDCO) and the Manor House Development Trust. So far it has seen hundreds of older homes in disrepair demolished and nearly 3,000 replacement homes built.

The council has long promised to rehouse secure tenants on the new estate once it is finished. But the approved schedule means council households face being moved twice as demolition outpaces redevelopment — a practice known as “double decanting.”

Exactly how many face a second move is itself disputed: council reports and Labour put the figure at up to 32 households, while Cllr Binnie-Lubbock says it is 21.

Labour cries U-turn

The prospect has led the Labour opposition to accuse the Greens of rowing back on Labour’s earlier commitment not to move residents more than once.

Woodberry Down councillor Sarah Young (Labour) said that in power Labour had worked to avoid the “social cleansing” caused by forcing tenants to move twice or leave the estate, adding that the decision would also affect 132 households in temporary housing.

“For all of these families, moving more times than they need to will be a huge upheaval and one we have made every effort to avoid to date,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Cllr Binnie-Lubbock said double decanting was the last remaining option to avoid costly delays that risked adding £13.5m to Phase 5 and “jeopardising the whole project.”

“Obviously, it’s less than ideal and a difficult decision to make,” he said, though he disputed that Labour’s promise had been a “cast iron guarantee.”

In April, WDCO said it was “pressing Hackney to ensure that no resident is moved twice unnecessarily.” Council reports show 126 households were double decanted from four blocks in 2010 because the buildings were uninhabitable.

Labour, which ran Hackney until May and presided over the regeneration, welcomed what it called the new administration’s “about turn,” given the Greens’ past criticism of the scheme.

The mayor’s own words

The charge carries a particular edge because of Garbett’s own record. Before her election as mayor, as a London Assembly Member she authored a March 2026 report attacking the “failed” demolition-led approach to estate regeneration.

Using Woodberry Down as a case study, she said residents had “soured” on the development because of the stress and uncertainty it had caused.

“Too many broken promises and a lack of transparency by the developer means most of the trust they once had has evaporated,” she wrote.

The report concluded: “Residents across London are still living through the same failed model of estate regeneration, years of neglect, uncertainty and the very real risk of displacement.”

The Greens’ 2026 manifesto pledged to “review and monitor ‘partnerships’ between the council and property developers, including all estate regeneration projects, ensuring the needs of the community are always the priority.”

‘Grappling with legacy decisions’

Garbett said her position had not changed, but that her administration was “grappling with a lot of legacy decisions.”

“We’re accepting where we are. This report isn’t even a planning decision, it’s about ensuring this phase can keep going,” she said. “We want to make the best of it for residents.”