Development on Hackney Marshes

Hackney Gazette

Save Lea Marshes

Please read to the end of this update to be informed of important news and vital suggested actions to help protect the marshes! Our hotmail account is currently out of action - we hope to have it back soon!

We have really good news to report. The Planning Inspectorate yesterday notified everyone who made an objection about the proposals for building on Hackney Marshes that there will be a public enquiry into the plans. This is recognition that the plans need further examination and may not be approved due to their impact on common land.

Public enquiries are held when:

· a lot of objections have been received in response to the application; 

· the issues of the case are particularly complex; 

· it appears to be the only way to obtain the information needed to decide the 

application. 

There is no doubt that the petition and the objections the Planning Inspectorate received have helped lead to this decision to hold an enquiry, so thank you for everything you have done up to now. 

The enquiry will be an opportunity for the applicant to explain their proposals but also for witnesses to explain their objections. If you were someone who kindly took the time to make an objection, please check that you received a notification of the decision. We strongly urge everyone who possibly can toregister to attend the enquiry. If you attend, you can explain how the proposals will adversely affect you as a user of the common land of Hackney Marshes. We will notify everyone of how to go about registering soon and will include this information on our website: www.saveleamarshes.org.uk

We realise that many of you will not have attended such an event before, however we will provide support and guidance to everyone who wishes to attend, outlining how to go about giving your evidence.

Even if as a result of the enquiry, the plans are given Planning Inspectorate approval, Hackney Council Planning Committee will still need to approve the plans. For this reason, we are asking that people alsoobject to Hackney Council about the proposals NOW.

To do this, simply follow the detailed guidance on both our blog and website.

Thanks everyone for what you've helped achieve - let's keep up the pressure to save Hackney Marshes from unnecessary car parks!

Caroline

Save Lea Marshes

How many car parks on Hackney Marshes? Have your say now. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. On Hackney Marshes You may have seen debate in local papers about plans fordevelopments on Hackney marshes - a pavilion with car park on north marsh, and a car park on east marsh. These proposals are now in the council's planning approvals process and you have until 3rd October to comment on them. HMUG welcomes the replacement of the old north marsh changing rooms. But the proposal is to put the new building on what is now grassland, and further out onto the marsh. We question whether marsh users support this, since it's only being done to provide car parking on the current building footprint.. Reduce the parking, and the building could go on the current footprint. The east marsh car park doesn't seem to have any real use at all - there's no longer a changing room building on east marsh. The council asked for part of the Olympic coach park to be left in place, without having got planning permission, and now it's scratching around for excuses. These developments will see yet more of the marshes go under hard surface and buildings. In the past decade we've seen the Marshes Centre built at the cost of grassland and trees, and the loss of all outlying areas of Marshes common land to the Olympics, including Arena Field which was once intended for cricket and is now the Olympic media centre and car park. How much of the marshes common land do we want to see used for car parks?