Town Hall Square: Designing Hackney's Square

Overview

What we’re doing

Hackney Town Hall Square is the heart of Hackney Central, connecting the Grade II listed Hackney Town Hall, the iconic Hackney Empire, and essential community facilities like Hackney Central Library and the Hackney Museum.

To enhance the square's potential, Hackney Council has commissioned muf architecture/art to work with the community to redesign it, ensuring it better serves the diverse communities of Hackney.

Why we’re doing it

Feedback from Hackney residents underscores the need for public spaces that reflect and celebrate the local community's rich culture. While the square is a cherished historical and civic asset, there's significant potential to improve its accessibility, enhance its heritage character, and foster inclusivity by bringing together local communities.

How we’re doing it

Funded by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as part of the Levelling Up Fund, this project prioritises community input. We're inviting a diverse range of stakeholders, including young people, disabled residents, community groups representing different cultures/ethnicities, and neighbouring businesses and community groups, to participate in workshops over the coming weeks. This will culminate in a public workshop with the architects.

Why your views matter

Introducing Our Second Survey

Recently, we closed our first survey where we asked you about how you use the square now and what it means to you and others, including memories or moments that are particularly meaningful to you.

In this new survey, we will be sharing emerging design priorities identified through that initial survey and other early engagement and site analysis activity, and asking for your feedback on these.

Please take a moment to review each priority and indicate its importance to you. Your feedback is essential in guiding the next steps of our design process.

What happens next

The conversation doesn't stop here. We're also conducting an extensive 'listening and learning' exercise, which started in April and is continuing through July, to gather input from a wide range of voices. In the weeks ahead, our engagement with key stakeholder groups will continue as we embark on the design phase for the project. This ongoing dialogue is crucial as we craft solutions that truly reflect the diverse voices of Hackney.

We have been having focus group discussions and conducting street interviews with users of the square. From all the conversations we have had, we have identified some priorities and are moving towards developing designs that we will be looking to share in the coming weeks.

Your input will be pivotal as we refine and tailor our plans to ensure they resonate with our community. Please sign up for the Hackney Central newsletter to be kept updated on future events.