Hackney’s Budget – Again no rise in Hackney's part of council tax

Hackney's elected Mayor Jules Pipe announced tonight (Wednesday) that there will be no increase in Hackney's part of the Council Tax.

The council's finances remain strong with efficiency savings meaning there will be no cuts to local services.

Labour's priorities for the coming year

- We will double the number of teams tackling graffiti and fly-posting

- There will be even more street cleaning for our local town centres

- New investment will provide fixed youth provision to another five Hackney estates

- There will be a 4.2% increase in cash for Hackney schools

- Planning & Regulation will see a huge £619,000 investment to improve the service

Hackney Council's new website

Hackney Council's website has been updated with a new design, improved navigation and a new search facility.

During the coming months more new features and content are planned with the intention of having more access to services online.

The address is the same as it always was: http://www.hackney.gov.uk/

For other local links see the bottom of this site.

Solar panels

Some residents have asked us to investigate whether it’s possible to put solar panels on the roofs of De Beauvoir houses. The response from the council’s planning chief is that the installation of solar panels in valley roofs can be suitable in the kind of houses we have in the area as they are likely to be visually less intrusive than installing them on a pitched roof.

But, you’d have to consider:
- The angle of the roof and orientation of the building. Solar panels should be pitched at a 45 degree angle for optimal solar gain.
- Solar shading from adjacent roofs and buildings could affect the output from the panels.
- The load bearing capacity of the roof, particularly with regard to solar hot water systems, will need to be verified to ensure that the panels are safely supported.

Grants are available for up to £2500 for homeowners through the Low Carbon Building Programme for the installation of renewable technologies. You can get more info at: www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/how/householders

Progress continues on final Colville Estate agreement

It’s been another six months of hard work from tenant representatives, Hackney Council and the Futures partnership to agree the final details of Colville Estate’s regeneration.

While you may have heard that other estate regeneration plans have had to go back to the drawing board, this is not the case with the Colville Estate. Negotiations remain firmly on track.

Hackney’s Deputy Mayor, Jamie Carswell, wrote to tenant representatives just this week assuring them of the Council’s commitment to a successful outcome in the final negotiations with the Futures partnership.

We are delighted with the Council’s continued hard work and support and are urging negotiators to redouble efforts towards that final agreement.

People have worked extremely hard to make this regeneration a reality and we’ll continue to work to ensure residents get the estate they need and deserve.

Hackney Wins 3 Stars

Following a review by the independent Audit Commission, Hackney Council services are expected to be awarded a “Good” 3 star rating in their performance assessment in February 2008. De Beauvoir Labour Councillors are delighted with this recognition of the improvements that have been made and will continue to work closely with Mayor Jules Pipe to ensure that we keep up this progress.

If you have a view on what further improvements would most benefit De Beauvoir, or complaints, comments or opinions about any aspect of what the Council does, email us on DeBeauvoir@Hackney-Labour.org.uk .