FAQs

Stamford Hill is unlike any other part of Hackney, and that’s why it needs its own dedicated planning rules – to help ensure new developments, changes to existing buildings or interventions in public spaces benefit the community first and balance the different needs and demands placed on new developments and their impact on the wider neighbourhood.

The preparation of the Stamford Hill AAP commenced six years ago and has centred on an ongoing and extensive community engagement programme which has been successful in bringing communities together. From the start there has been an extensive programme of community workshops, newsletters, questionnaires and drop-ins to find out about the AAP at all of its stages, and to help feed into the ‘Towards a Stamford Hill Plan’ which undertook a formal public consultation in 2017.  Over a period of eight weeks more than 2,000 people commented on this plan and this feedback has helped to shape the current draft plan that is being consulted on. 

The ‘draft Stamford Hill AAP’ consultation which is currently live, saw the Council write to every address within the AAP area, press releases published in local media outlets and online engagement through the ‘Hackney News’, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Nextdoor to notify the community of the consultation. Hard copies of the draft plan are also available to be viewed at local libraries. Local consultation drop-ins have taken place to ensure that residents can come and ask questions, share their comments on the draft AAP with Planning Officers and find out more about the draft plan.

A key objective of the draft plan is to build social cohesion in Stamford Hill and produce policies and proposals that maintain a balanced approach to planning and development for all communities in the area. The evidence and research undertaken to support the draft plan considers the needs and priorities of the community as a whole and seeks to set out a considered, sensitive and balanced response to this through planning and development. 

The draft plan responds to a wide range of resident-led issues and priorities that have been identified through extensive engagement and supporting evidence gathering. These priorities include the need for suitable homes, creating accessible, distinctive and vibrant high streets and town centres, proactively planning for much-needed community spaces, delivering high quality public and open spaces, improving the network of streets and footpaths to enable safe walking and cycling, and providing greater access to green and open spaces.

For more information on the key issues, opportunities and challenges that have been identified through the supporting evidence and engagement work undertaken to date, please see page 14 of the draft Stamford Hill AAP.

The proposals described in the draft plan haven’t been developed overnight – they’re the result of more than five years of work alongside and involving the community. This has included:

• Producing a broad range of evidence based studies to understand the needs of the Stamford Hill community.
• Undertaking an 18-month engagement programme including drop-in events, questionnaires, sessions with local schools and community workshops covering different themes, such as: leisure and social facilities, local businesses, public realm and green spaces, health and wellbeing, housing, education and learning.
• Using the huge amount of feedback received from the Towards a Stamford Hill Plan consultation – an early document setting out a vision for the future of Stamford Hill alongside a series of objectives identified in order to meet this.
• Through an ongoing engagement with the community through thematic workshops that have included schools and other local organisations.

With most of these discussions taking place before the coronavirus pandemic, it’s vital that we ensure they meet the needs of local residents today and continue to reflect the priorities of local people which is why we’re encouraging as many people in Stamford Hill to have their say so that the plan that does become adopted is the right plan for Stamford Hill.

The Stamford Hill Community Panel has played a key role in developing the Stamford Hill Plan, with a membership to reflect the demographic, faith and ethnic profile of the area. 

The Council set up a Community Panel in 2015 which is chaired by an independent facilitator and has played a major role in the organisation of a programme of community engagement for the Stamford Hill AAP. The main purpose of the Community Panel is to ensure that a range of local views are taken into account in the policies developed in the Plan. The group includes representatives of both of the Stamford Hill neighbourhood forum applicants, key community groups, faith groups and ward Councillors. The group aims to reflect the demographic, faith and ethnic profile of the community in Stamford Hill.

The Council has commissioned and used an extensive and far-reaching range of supporting evidence about Stamford Hill which, alongside views and input from across the community, have informed the proposals put forward. All of this can be viewed online at https://hackney.gov.uk/stamford-hill-aap.

While extensions or adaptations to existing homes is one of the ways to help meet the clear housing need in Stamford Hill, the proposals in the draft plan make it clear that any proposal to alter or extend an existing home would only be approved if the designs meet the highest architectural standards and do not overlook or block daylight and sunlight to neighbouring properties. 

The current Residential Extensions and Alterations Supplementary Planning Document already allows for single-storey rear extensions in smaller gardens, providing at least 50% of the garden remains. An example would be a 3 metre rear extension in a 6-metre rear garden, which is likely to be assessed favourably. However, the guidance does not allow for 50% coverage of larger rear gardens

In addition, proposed extensions within a conservation area, on streets that are very uniform in character, particularly at roof level, and in narrow streets would not be affected by the changes in the draft plan. Homes that may fall into these categories would continue to be assessed against the current Residential Extensions and Alterations Supplementary Planning Document that are already in place and have been for the last 13 years. 

All proposals will also be assessed in accordance with the borough-wide Local Plan LP33, which includes detailed design policies that can be found on pages 66, 69 and 97. 

There is clear pressure on and demand for community facilities such as schools, faith facilities, healthcare facilities in Stamford Hill. The proposals in the draft plan do allow for existing residential buildings to be converted into other uses where it can be shown that this can help provide space for needed community facilities and only where they meet certain strict environmental criteria, this includes:

• Ensuring no adverse impact on existing occupiers or neighbours, either from an individual building or the cumulative impact of multiple buildings changing use. This includes all aspects of environmental impact - see below.
• Ensuring no risk to people or cumulative impact in terms of road safety in the surrounding area.
• Promoting and demonstrating a clear active travel plan that promotes modal shift access such as walking and cycling.

Additionally, there are a number of relevant policies in the Council’s borough-wide Local Plan LP33, that any proposed changes would need to adhere to detailed criteria and environmental impact measures concerning design, traffic, and amenity considerations (such as visual privacy and overlooking, overshadowing and outlook, daylight and sunlight, noise, and highway safety) etc. Please see policies LP1 Design Quality and Local Character, LP2 Development and Amenity, LP8 Social and Community Infrastructure, LP9 Health and Wellbeing, LP10 Arts, Culture and Entertainment Facilities, LP24 Preventing the Loss of Housing, LP43 Transport and Development of the borough-wide Local Plan LP33.

The housing shortage is a critical issue in Stamford Hill and Hackney as a whole, and across the Council uses every tool available to it to try and address this need. The draft plan identifies some sites that could accommodate new homes in Stamford Hill, as well as establishing clear requirements around affordability so that as many of these as possible are genuinely affordable to local people. In line with the policy LP13 of borough-wide Local Plan LP33 - see page 91, all new developments in Stamford Hill must provide at least 50% affordable housing.

Meanwhile, the Council itself continues to deliver on ambitious plans to build a new generation of Council homes across Hackney. This includes Tower Court in Stamford Hill where the first new social rent properties were completed at the end of 2021.  The Council's innovative, not-for-profit approach has directly delivered more than 1,000 homes since 2011 despite a lack of central Government funding, with more than half the homes built for genuinely affordable social rent, shared ownership or Hackney Living Rent.

There are currently three conservation areas within Stamford Hill and several others which have been identified as potential future conservation areas. 

The potential conservation areas will be considered by the Council at some point in the future, however these are subject to a separate statutory process and programme of consultations, in line with Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation Areas) Act 1990. 

Residents within each of the potential conservation areas will be invited to comment on the proposals as they come forward and the comments received will inform the final designation. Should the proposed conservation area become designated, any policies which refer to conservation areas both in the AAP and the borough-wide Local Plan LP33 would then apply to these areas. They will also be reflected on the Policies Map.

At the present time, the potential conservation areas are identified as being a ‘medium priority’ within the Council’s wider Conservation Area Review Programme. Designation of conservation areas is a lengthy process, which involves detailed research, public consultation and formal adoption.

The Council is committed to continuous and ongoing engagement and, while the Council is required by Government regulations to set a defined period of consultation at this stage in the process.

However, the Council will take into account all comments received after the formal consultation deadline of 31 January 2022. After this date, the formal consultation events such as community drop-ins and leaflets will conclude but responses can still be submitted through to 28 February 2022.

However if you are unable to finalise your comments by 28 February 2022, please get in touch with the Strategic Planning team at planmaking@hackney.gov.uk.

The feedback received will help to shape the final draft Plan which we will undertake a final stage of consultation on following Cabinet and Council approval later this year. For more information on how to respond to the consultation, please visit the website at: https://hackney.gov.uk/stamford-hill-aap

The Stamford Hill Area Action Plan (AAP) is a planning document which will provide a comprehensive framework for Stamford Hill for the next 15 years. The AAP will manage existing development pressures and shape future growth in a sustainable manner.

The AAP provides a framework for growth which safeguards the area’s unique character and can be used to guide future development in the area. The Plan will ensure that development delivers real benefits to the community, particularly in terms of maximising the supply of large family homes, improving public space and public realm, providing new schools and community facilities and improving local shopping centres in Stamford Hill. In producing the Stamford Hill AAP, the Council has involved the community in a positive way to build a new vision for the future of Stamford Hill

As Stamford Hill’s population has grown and the area has become a more popular place to live, there has been an increasing pressure not just on housing but on facilities like schools, community facilities and local spaces.

The Stamford Hill AAP aims to help address these challenges and manage change in line with the needs of local people. It will set out how and where new homes can be provided, alongside planning guidance to help improve community facilities, shopping centres and public realm.

This will include identifying specific sites where larger new developments may be possible, as well as guidance for smaller new developments and changes to existing buildings.

Once adopted, the Stamford Hill AAP will be an important document when making planning decisions in Stamford Hill.

Over the last five years we’ve undertaken extensive engagement with thousands of local people and different local organisations and developed a draft AAP that draws on what we've heard are the key issues and opportunities and puts forward policies and guidance to address these for the next 15 years.

The development of the AAP relies on engagement and feedback from the local community of residents, landowners, developers, businesses and other stakeholder groups. It is important in the development of the AAP that the Council hears the local views, comments and suggestions on the vision, objectives and proposed policies. 

This consultation is your opportunity to tell us what you think about the draft Stamford Hill AAP, including the policies and the supporting evidence base, and to let us know if we have missed anything out. We will be holding local consultation events to talk through the AAP and to get your feedback. 

Feedback will be used to develop the final draft AAP, so that you and the wider Stamford Hill neighbourhood can see clearly what the Council and its partners are doing to try to achieve your priorities and ensure the AAP builds on the existing strength and diversity of the community in Stamford Hill by providing new homes, jobs and community facilities, and creating shared space and better connections, with a choice of sustainable modes of transport and an improved public realm designed around the communities’ residential, civic and economic needs.

For information on the draft Stamford Hill Area Action Plan, please visit the website at https://hackney.gov.uk/stamford-hill-aap or the commonplace website at https://stamfordhillareaactionplan.commonplace.is/.

Alternatively, you can email in at planmaking@hackney.gov.uk or call a member of the team at 020 8356 8062.