Changes to Recycling and Waste Collection Days During the Holidays

Recycling and waste collection days will change during the Christmas holidays. Details can be found on the council website along with all the other changes to Council services during Christmas and New year period (http://www.hackney.gov.uk/Festive-Season-Opening-Times.htm).

Hackney Borough Commander to Host Live Webchat

Hackney Borough Commander to host first live webchat to answer questions from the public’s on Wednesday, 28 November at 6.30pm.

The webchat will provide people living and working in Hackney with an opportunity to ask Hackney’s top police officer questions on policing the borough and his vision of the future.

The webchat is part of Matt Horne’s commitment to speak directly with members of the public to find out their views on Hackney Police and how it can further improve.

You will be able to access the webchat on Wednesday 28 November at 6.30pm via the Met Police’s website at: http://www.met.police.uk/askyourlocalpolice/ The webchat will also be hosted live by the Hackney Gazette at: www.hackneygazette.co.uk

If you can’t make the webchat you can pre-submit questions in advance at: hackneypolice@met.police.uk or on Twitter using the hashtag #AskHackneyPolice

Tell Us Your Views on Hackney's Night Life

The Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission is completing a review of how the Council manages the impact of late-night entertainment in the borough.

The ‘night time economy’ in Hackney includes pubs, bars, restaurants, cinemas, nightclubs, and live music venues. Areas like Shoreditch and Dalston have vibrant night lives, and whilst this attracts visitors and business to the area it also causes problems for local residents and pressure on public services.

The Commission is keen to hear the views of local residents as part of this review, as well as those going out in Hackney at night.

An online survey has been set up for residents to share their views to be included in this review. The online survey can be found here.

At the end of this review the Commission’s councillors will make recommendations about how services can be improved, based on the evidence they have heard.

Join the Campaign to Save Kingsland Fire Station

The London Fire Brigade is facing steep cuts due to the government cutting the fire budget by 25%.  That amounts to £29.5 million this year and by a further £35.3 million next year.  In total £65 million.

This is the biggest shake-up to the London Fire Brigade since it was created 146 years ago.

Earlier this month the BBC saw sight of a document that earmarked a total of 17 of the 113 fire stations in London for closure, which would see a loss of 600 jobs.

The stations include Kingsland Road fire station in Hackney along with fire stations in Action, Belsize, Bow, Clapham, Clerkenwell, Downham, Islington, Kensington, Knightsbridge, New Cross, Peckham, Silvertown, Southwark, Westminseter, Whitechapel and Woolwich. 

The following figures demonstrate the urgency of calling on the Mayor of London to reconsider plans to close Kingsland fire station:

• The fire brigade attended around 4,500 incidents in Hackney in the last 12 months – 35% higher than the London borough average of 3,328.
• The number of incidents is much higher in the south of the borough, surrounding Kingsland station.  471 of the incidents in the borough in the last 12 months were in Haggerston alone.
• Kingsland fire station attended to 720 incidents across Hackney in the last 12 months, 658 of which were real incidents, and 52 false alarms.  This included 309 actual fires (plus 56 false alarms re fire).
• Islington fire station, another station at risk of closure, has attended 71 incidents in Hackney in the last 12 months, when a call was received and the nearest Hackney fire station was unavailable.

You can read more about what you can do to join with the Hackney Labour Group to call on the Mayor of London to save Kingsland Fire Station here.

You can:

• sign our petition online here
• Download a petition here and collect signatures from your neighbours and friends
• Join our Facebook group to keep updated on the campaign
• Download a poster to put in your window

One Hackney Festival and the Olympic Torch Relay

There are just seven days until the Olympic Games start and there is one more day before the One Hackney festival when Hackney will welcome the Olympic Torch to the borough.

The parade will kick off at 10.30am in Hoxton at Pitfield Street before it heads off up Whitemore Road and Stamford Road to Kingsland Road.

The parade will then continue north to Stoke Newington Road and Stoke Newington High Street before turning left into Stoke Newington Church Street at around 12.30.

The Olympic Torch is then expected to arrive in the borough at 15.50 in Shoreditch.  It will then travel up to Dalston, onto Stoke Newington before going onto Hackney Central, and along Homerton Road, past Mabley Green and Hackney Marshes.

Please remember that buses will be suspended outside Hackney Town Hall as large crowds will be expected there.

Road will also be closed to allow the One Hackney parade and the Olympic Torch to pass through the borough.  The following roads will be closed for the parade from 10.30am:

• Pitfield Street
• Whitemore Road
• De Beauvoir Road
• Stamford Road
• A10 Junction with Richmond Road to Stoke Newington Church Street (northbound)

Due to the One Hackeny Parade, the following parking bays will also be suspended from 00.01 until 19.00 on 21 July.

• Pitfield Street - All bays on the western side on the section between junction with Mintern Street and Hoxton Street. 
• Whitmore Road - All bays on western side entire length 
• De Beauvoir Road - All bays on western side from Whitmore Road up to junction with Englefield Road 
• Stamford Road - All bays on western side between Englefield Road and A10 Kingsland Road. 
• Stoke Newington Church Street -Parking on Stoke Newington Church Street will be suspended from 9:00 to 17:00 

For further information on the One Hackney Festival, please read FAQs about the festival.

If you were planning to attend the event at Clissold Park, please not that this will not now take place as the event site is waterlogged and has been deemed unsafe. Anyone who booked tickets for this event is being contacted. The Parade will run as planned along the same 2.8 mile route, ending at Stoke Newington.

Travel in Hackney During the London 2012 Games

The London 2012 Games start in less then two weeks and 1 million visitors are expected in London throughout the duration of the Games.

Roads and public transport will be busy across the capital and The Olympic and Paralympic Route Network and Games Lanes will connect venues, accommodation and transport hubs.

Although there will be significant changes will be to Homerton Road and the Eastway, other areas of the borough will also be affected.

There will be a number of road events during the Olympic and Paralympic Games and streets will be closed.  Although events will not take place in Hackney, City Road, Old Street and Great Eastern Street will be used as an alternative route for athletes, officials, workers and media when road events take place on the Olympic Route Network.  These will take place on 28 and 29 July and 4,5,7,11 and 12 August.  When the road events are in operation, changes to the roads will include longer parking and stopping restrictions and switching off some pedestrian crossing signals.

The Olympic Route Network will generally be in operation and enforced between 6am and midnight though there will be some changes to times of operation. Transport for London have warned that any vehicles that are driven, load, park or stop illegally on ORN/PRN will be removed and will face £130 Penalty Charge Notice.  I have spoken to transport for London and have been informed that cyclists will also receive PCN if they cycle in the ORN/PRN during times of operation.

For more information on how transport will be affected during the Games, please visit the Get Ahead of the Games website where you can sign up for email alerts at Games time.  You can also follow @GAOTG on Twitter or call 0843 222 1234 for details.

We Love Hoxton Newsletter - Olympic Special

We have published our latest We Love Hoxton e-newsletter full of news and information on the London 2012 Games.

To find out more about how the Games will affect parking, driving and waste collection services, click here.

You can read previous versions of our e-newsletter here.

If you would like to sign up to receive future newsletters direct to you inbox, click here.