Steve Race
Nov 6 · 5 min read

Objection to planning application 2018/2370: Iceland/Finstead Pharmacy site, Hoxton Street 06/11/2019

Thank you Chair, and thank you to officers for the time and effort that I know has gone into this application.

Chair I’m here to object to this application as Councillor for Hoxton East, and I speak on behalf of local residents who rightly take a very keen interest in changes to our area. I’m also here to speak on behalf of my fellow ward colleagues, Cllr Adams and Cllr Clark, whom I know are in full agreement.

Hoxton is a well-established community, with a distinct character, made up of long-standing communities from around the world who have made it their home. As Hackney, and especially Shoreditch just to the south, has changed over the years, the Hoxton community has proven resilient and has remained largely in tact.

This is largely down to the high levels of social housing that surrounds Hoxton Street, with over 40% of Hoxton East residents living in council housing. Much of Hoxton East is considered to be in the top 20% of most deprived areas in the country.

Hoxton East is therefore relatively poor, and Hoxton Street reflects both this fact and the history of the area. It’s fair to say that Hoxton Street is the heart of the Hoxton community. Hoxton Street businesses tend to be local, and serve the local community. Thus it is also with the larger units on the street, such as Poundland and the current Iceland store – value stores that serve the local community.

If this application is approved, the following years of development are likely to cause significant harm to the Hoxton community.

The loss of a value supermarket on the street, for the period of demolition and construction, will inconvenience residents, causing them to have to travel much further to get to the nearest value supermarket.

A further impact will be on the Hoxton Street ecosystem itself – both the small shops, and the Saturday market. Many families go to Iceland to do their shopping at the weekend, and will also shop at the market, and at the local shops. The reduction in footfall caused by the closure of the Iceland is likely to have a significant impact on the wider health of Hoxton Street.

Members will also have seen the strength of feeling from local residents in the size of the petitions submitted. As I said, local residents care about their local area, and have an active interest in making sure it continues to serve their needs as a community.

Chair, as a member of your committee, I’m aware of the parameters in which the committee operates. Members will know that this is a privately-owned building, on private land.

However I want to ensure that given the context, this committee ensures that the application delivers the very best that can be achieved for the Hoxton community.

As such, Chair, I want to comment on the following aspects of the application: housing provision, impact on the surrounding area, and design.

On housing provision, no member on this committee will be unaware that Hackney is in severe need of more social housing. Many of my surgery cases are about people who need to move, and therefore I believe no opportunity for increasing social-rent housing should be overlooked.

The application includes 34 build to rent units, including 9 that are to be London Living Rent units. I absolutely welcome the London Living Rent initiative, and congratulate Mayor Sadiq Khan on developing this new policy.

However, it is not social rent, and it is not designed to help those most in need of social housing. I would question, therefore, why these 9 LLR units cannot be developed as social rent – or perhaps, even why half of them could not be offered at social rent levels.

I note also that all of the 3 bed units – family size units that are most needed in Hoxton – are offered only at market rent. I would like to see the committee question why that is. In addition, I note that 6 units are single aspect and north facing – I would like to ensure that, given officers believe this is “acceptable given the constraints of the site”, these six do not all fall within the LLR/social rent allocation.

On impact to the local area, I am keen to ensure that if the application is given the go ahead, the following is taken into account:

  • Mitigation to ensure that the market is unaffected directly by the construction
  • That the pathways are kept clear
  • That the highest standards of construction management are employed

I do welcome the contribution of £30,000 to provide support for other small businesses within the area, in lieu of the re-provisioning of the smaller unit.

Finally, design. Hoxton Street was designated a conservation area in 1983, on the basis of its historic value as a centre of commerce in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Some of the buildings are listed individually, with some dating back further than the 18th Century.

Overall, the street retains historic Victorian shop fronts such as F Cooke’s, and the value is down not just to the individual buildings but to the materials used.

I don’t believe anyone would consider the existing building to have any design merit at all.

However, given the position and size of this site on Hoxton Street, this is a significant opportunity not just to enhance the site per what went before, but to provide a building that enhances the conservation area as a whole.

Chair, I would suggest that this building does not do that. While some effort has been expended in architecture that seeks to mimic the adjoining buildings in terms of verticality, as the report puts it, the building simply does not fit in with the streetscape – the windows do not align or take inspiration from the adjoining buildings, the roofing does not reflect the adjoining buildings etc.

In design terms, it is relatively bland and uninspiring. This building could be put up pretty much anywhere, and we will see copies of them everywhere. It does not recall or reference the heritage of the local area, and has no real connection to our community and its history. Given its position in the Hoxton Street Conservation Area, should we not be asking for more? I would also question whether this application has gone through a design review process? This is not referenced in the papers.

Chair, as I have said I understand the restrictions that the committee is under. However I hope that I have set out some areas where I believe the developers could be doing more, and that I believe the committee may want to interrogate.

Thank you

Steve Race

Written by

Labour Councillor for Hoxton East & Shoreditch. Cycling, hiking, cinema-ing, and a lot of #LabourDoorstep-ing.