Titbits – Hackney, the people’s choice

Rejoice, burghers of the borough! Hackney’s Green mayor Zoë Garbett has unveiled “Hackney is Yours”, a campaign to “put residents’ voices at the heart of local decision making” — a heart which, Citizen readers will note, has been beating away perfectly happily without them for some considerable time.

The mayor’s diagnosis is that too many people feel decisions are made without listening to those affected. Her planning cabinet member, Cllr Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, adds that new developments too often benefit developers’ profits rather than residents. Both statements are entirely correct. Both were also available for inspection at any point during the previous administration, free of charge, from any Hackney resident within earshot.

The remedy is two consultation surveys (three minutes for the time-poor, ten for the truly committed), a series of pop-ups, and a shiny new Citizens’ Assembly — the municipal equivalent of a suggestion box with a sofa.

All of which will “inform” a Borough Plan setting a vision for Hackney in 2040, plus a local plan governing land use for 15 years. Consultation closes in due course. Planning committee, as ever, does not.