Plans for a new infill development with 189 new homes in Hackney’s De Beauvoir Estate have been approved. The scheme is proposed by Hackney Council, Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, Henley Halebrown, and Stephen Taylor Architects.
It will provide nearly 19,000 sq m (204,514 sq ft) of high-quality, new residential space. This includes 189 mixed-tenure homes, as well as 593 sq m (6,383 sq ft) of non-residential floorspace and new play areas.
Following long community consultation, the development will deliver six high-quality new buildings that respond to the estate’s character. They will also respond to the current housing. This is by using five undeveloped and unused plots without demolishing any existing homes.
Furthermore, the project at De Beauvoir Estate will help in the improvement of the urban environment surrounding the blocks. This is by generating more active street-level frontages and offering a better public realm. Consequently, they will integrate the current estate buildings with the new developments and around the streets.
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The diverse and balanced community in Hackney’s De Beauvoir Estate
Half of the new homes will be affordable, with 59 of them being socially rented and the other 36 being shared ownership. The development is tenure-blind, with all social and affordable housing distributed across the site. Thus, it creates a diverse and balanced community.
Local residents shaped the designs over a four-year period of consultation. Council tenants on the De Beauvoir Estate will have first priority for new Council homes. This is if their current home does not meet their needs such as due to overcrowding or medical reasons.
The De Beauvoir Estate is located north of the Regents Canal towpath, to the east of Islington, and to the southwest of Hackney Central. These homes will add to the Council’s mover 1,000 homes started or completed from May 2018. Over half the homes built by the Council are for genuinely affordable Council social rent, shared ownership, or Hackney Living Rent.
