Posts by Josef Steen, Local Democracy Reporter
What’s next after the Greens’ historic takeover of Hackney?
Hackney’s new mayor Zoë Garbett pledged to ‘change the system’ as she claimed victory at the local elections. What has she promised to do, and how will she try to achieve her goals?
Read MoreNew Hackney Half route is bad for business, traders warn council
Hackney businesses have warned they are losing one of their best trading days of the year following changes to the route
Read MoreGreen party councillor quits straight after election victory following breach of local government rules
James Tilden was elected to represent Hackney Central ward with 1,681 votes
Read MoreGreen mayoral candidate accused of ‘blocking’ letter praising police for Golders Green response to knife attacks
Cllr Zoë Garbett raised objections to a proposed missive from the London Assembly’s police and crime committee
Read MoreConservative candidate vows as to quit after a year as Hackney mayor if he cannot honour manifesto pledges
Tareke Gregg has vowed to trigger a mayoral by-election if he fails to deliver
Read MoreLocal elections 2026: the political parties’ key pledges and manifestos at-a-glance
Hackney residents can vote in two elections on 7 May – for candidates standing as ward councillors and also for those contesting the borough’s directly-elected mayoralty
Read MoreLast surviving disinfecting station in England at risk, charity says
Hackney’s Grade II listed municipal disinfecting station, the last of its kind in England, has topped the Victorian Society’s list of the country’s most endangered buildings
Read MoreHackney election candidates slam ‘medieval’ bailiffs at hustings
Hackney’s mayoral hopefuls have clashed over the council’s use of bailiffs, as new data reveals a surge from zero to nearly 14,000 debt referrals in a single year
Read MoreHackney Council shells out £15.6 million on fire safety consultants
The Town Hall has appointed contractors to identify ‘potentially combustible’ materials in its housing stock by the 2029 deadline
Read MoreHackney manhole leak flowing for ‘four years’
Thames Water has been accused of incompetence and failing to address the ongoing hazard
Read MoreMoth Club gets reprieve as council blocks planning bid – but venue ‘not out of the woods’
Venue celebrates a ‘huge win’ following a 30,000-strong petition to block a controversial flat development on Morning Lane
Read MoreEstate regeneration actually leading to ‘degeneration’ – London mayor warned
In her new report, Green party Assembly Member Zoë Garbett claims Londoners are still suffering from the ‘same failed approach’ despite recent City Hall reforms
Read MoreCouncil’s uncollected £850k debt leaves leaseholders ‘trapped’ in their building
The freeholder, Restoration Hackney Ltd, owes almost £1 million to the local authority
Read MoreFresh proposals for traffic measures in Hoxton face local backlash
The strongest opposition comes from car users who live within the scheme area, caregivers, disabled people and renters
Read MoreCouncil closes in on ‘ambitious’ 2026 social housing goal
Plans for more than 100 new social rent homes have been rubber-stamped in a bid to meet housing targets
Read MoreHackney has lowest meningitis B vaccine rate in London as parents share outbreak concerns
The meningitis outbreak which started in Kent spread to London last week
Read MoreRidley Road indoor market traders fear permanent ‘eviction’ – but landlord says they could return ‘as early as June’
Those businesses deemed not to have been ‘involved in antisocial behaviour’ and with no substantial rent arrears will be invited back
Read MoreHackney Council ignored tenant’s concerns over safety of her autistic child in social housing
The council has paid the family £500 to recognise the “distress, uncertainty and frustration” it had caused
Read MoreCouncil suggests taking autistic boy on bus ride to ‘prove’ he can’t use public transport
The council suggested taking the child on a bus ride so they can test his family’s claim that travelling by public transport would prove distressing for him
Read MoreMother in homeless hostel denied visitors for a week after C-section, charity says
Shelter has urged Hackney Council to ease restrictions on its guest policy for children and families in temporary accommodation
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