Orwell Court and Welshpool Street Development Proposal

Overview

Hackney Council is excited to announce a new housing programme aimed at building around 400 new homes across 14 locations, including Orwell Court and Welshpool Street. Across the whole  programme 75% of the new homes will be council homes for social rent, prioritised for local residents with established housing needs. This initiative is part of our commitment to start building or support the construction of 1,000 new homes for social rent by 2026. Our goal is to address the housing shortage and provide high-quality, genuinely affordable homes to those in need.

Orwell Court and Welshpool Street sites have been identified as potential locations for new homes without the demolition of existing ones, alongside wider improvements to the neighbourhood.

In the summer of 2022, we discussed proposals with local residents to replace the garages at Orwell Court and the area around Welshpool Tower, including the site of the existing TMO and Council depot with new homes. Since then, the Council’s Cabinet has approved the plan to work with a design team and residents to develop detailed plans for the new homes on these estates.

We have appointed the following design team and specialist consultants:

Architects: Haworth Tompkins Architects 
Landscape Designers: LDA Design with Mark Lemanski
Cost Consultant: Exigere
Planning Consultant: HTA Planning
Multi Disciplinary Engineering Consultant: XCO2

Most of our design team members have lived or worked in Hackney for many years. They bring diverse backgrounds and cultures and are excited to collaborate with the community on these much-needed new homes and improvements. 

Why your views matter

Hackney Council Housing and Regeneration & Delivery team wants to hear your views on the early ideas for Orwell Court and Welshpool Street sites and the Shared Design Principles that will inform the next stage of design development. 

Shared Design Principles have been developed from the conversations held to date with the Resident Steering Group, their issues, concerns and aspirations raised plus the vision of the design team based on their in depth research of the site and design skills they bring as well as reflecting the Council’s goals, policies and regulations that all shape the plans.

This survey accompanies a public drop-in exhibition on Saturday 20 July 2024 10am-1pm and Tuesday 23 July 4-7.30pm. Both sessions will be held under a gazebo on Benjamin Close.

Please read through the exhibition boards and complete the following survey questions and share any additional ideas and opinions in the free text boxes provided.