Statement on November 30th strikes

The following statement has been released by Hackney's Labour Councillors regarding the strikes that are due to occur in Hackney and across the country tomorrow.


Hackney's Labour Councillors believe that the Local Government Pension Scheme is a good quality pension scheme that benefits from being funded and locally managed. 


We believe that the proposals from the Government are not an attempt to ensure that the pension scheme is sustainable but are in reality a savings exercise as none of the additional revenue will go towards improving the financial security of the scheme.


We believe that the government's intransigence has increased the possibility of industrial action.


Hackney's Labour Councillors support the work of the trades unions in raising awareness of this issue and local government employees in defending their pension scheme. We regret the potential implications for local residents and service users of industrial action but we have confidence that the most vital services will be maintained. Labour councillors recognise that trade unions members have an entirely legitimate grievance in a dispute that is not of their making.

De Beauvoir's Christmas Fairs

This weekend saw not one but two Christmas fairs in De Beauvoir.


At St Peter's Church Crypt, the De Beauvoir Underground organised a wonderful mix of arts and crafts across two rooms including local fixtures the The De Beauvoir Deli and a number of local artists.

On the Regents Canal, the Canals in Hackney Users Group had their own homely affair with cakes, mulled wine and children's narrowboat trips featuring Father Christmas!

If you missed them both, or are still looking out for more Christmas ideas, don't miss the Hackney Pirates Christmas market from 2-6pm on Sunday 11th December at their new base at 1-9 Downham Road. (And we'll have more about the Pirates in a future post!)

Pizza by the canal

An afternoon pizza party was held recently by the brain injury charity Headway on the Regent's Canal towpath in our ward.

The wood-fired pizza oven was hand built by members of the charity with materials donated by Allen Build contractors with E5 Bakehouse providing dough and pizza chefs.

The event raised over £500 for the charity.

The event was attended by Hackney South and Shoreditch MP Meg Hillier who said 'This is a fun way to raise [the charity's] profile. It is also really important for people who are finding difficulty getting into employment to have the opportunity to build confidence and skills'.

The great success of the event will hopefully mean a return visit to our ward by the charity and perhaps more pizza to enjoy for our residents and visitors.

If you'd like to learn more about Headway's work please visit their website.

And there are more pictures and further information on the pizza party here.

De Beauvoir Estate resident representation and Rose Lipman Community Hall

We are pleased to be able to announce two pieces of good news about De Beauvoir Estate – the first about how all tenants and residents can have their say in how their estate is run and the second about the Rose Lipman Community Hall on Downham Road.

De Beauvoir Estate Tenants and residents – have your say

Hackney Homes has invited all De Beauvoir Estate tenants and residents to a meeting on November 30^th to re-start resident meetings on the estate. The meeting will be held in the Rose Lipman Centre Community Hall.

The meeting will be facilitated by an independent chair and will be an opportunity for residents to discuss how to spend funds on communal improvements, talk about any activities residents want to undertake on the estate, and generally raise any issues about estate maintenance or repairs.

The evening will have two parts. The first, from 6.30, will be a chance for residents to raise any personal issues they have about repairs or other subject with Hackney Homes officers on an individual basis. From 7.30 there will be a formal meeting to allow residents to discuss issues that are relevant to the future of their estate.

Over the past year Hackney Homes has been working with residents to find common ground on how to effectively restart and renew the Tenants and Residents Association on behalf of De Beauvoir Estate’s residents. This process has regrettably failed to achieve a workable consensus acceptable to all residents involved and so this new interim meeting is being put in place to ensure people on the estate continue to be able to have a say their estate is run and hold Hackney Homes to account.

The De Beauvoir Councillors will be coming along and hope to see many residents there!

Rose Lipman Community Hall

The Rose Lipman Community Hall has been closed since the start of the year due to water damage and ongoing problems with the heating system.

The hall is now back in working order and due to be officially re-opened in the New Year. All bookings will  be managed by a dedicated team from Hackney Homes who can be contacted on 020 8356 7845.

Priority for bookings will be given to resident groups from De Beauvoir Estate and others from the local community.

De Beauvoir Christmas Fair

The second annual De Beauvoir Town Christmas Fair is taking place soon.

This event features the work of talented local artists, florists, jewellers, printers and photographers and many others.

Entry to the fair is free but donations are welcome and all funds raised will go towards the creation of a community space in De Beauvoir.

The fair takes place on 26-27th of November at St. Peter's Church Crypt, Northchurch Terrace from 10am until 3pm.

There is an events page set up on Facebook here with more details.

Hackney Winter Warmer is back!

Hackney Council and Hackney Homes have announced the 2011 Winter Warmer event for elderly residents.

This event offers advice on keeping warm and saving energy and money this winter.

Soup, tea and cakes are available on the day whilst attendees chat with other Hackney residents.

There will also be instruction on light exercise to do at home.

The Winter Warmer event takes place on the 16th November from 11am to 3pm at The Round Chapel, Lower Clapton Road, Hackney E5 0PU. Map

Places on the day are limited so if you are interested please call 020 8356 2066 to register for the event.

Further details on keeping warm and safe during the winter months are available on the Hackney Council website.

London Cycle Hire Station secured for De Beauvoir

Following pressure from your De Beauvoir Labour councillors Transport for London have decided to allocate funding for a new cycle hire docking station in our ward.

These cycles, sponsored by Barclays, have become a familiar sight in neighbouring wards and around town.

The new docking station will offer cycles for hire 24 hours a day subject to demand.

The station is scheduled to be placed on Pitfield Street outside Britannia Leisure Centre (see above pic).

The construction works for the station are scheduled to take place between now and February next year.

Further details on the cycle hire scheme are available on the TFL website.

On the removed posters for Friday's Hackney Debate...

A number of residents in the north of De Beauvoir have contacted us about the removal of posters for Friday night's Hackney Debate.

We contacted Council officers about this and this morning we've had the following apology through from Terry Edwards, the Borough Operations Manager for Waste Services:

"I can confirm that one of our sweepers did remove the posters as part of his cleansing duties. However this was a mistake on our part due to the sweeper trying to keep the area clean. I have spoken to the sweeper and the supervisor and clarified what is to be removed in the future. The Area Manager has also spoken to [De Beauvoir Association Secretary] Mr Paul Bolding and apologised and explained the situation."

So, it been confirmed that for the future - as they have been before - posters attached to private railings will be left alone by the street cleaning team.

For the present, hope to see you on Friday night at St Peter's Church!