Planning for Future Shoreditch
Hackney Council is launching a major exercise to plan for the future of Shoreditch.
Shoreditch is the creative heart of London and the home of Tech City, the centre of the UK’s cultural and digital economy. For nearly two decades, the area has been the home to one of the fastest growing arts, fashion, media and technology hubs in Europe.
It is Hackney’s major employment area, providing over 40,000 jobs in over 4,000 businesses and has played a key part in the prosperity of our borough. The area boasts internationally renowned hotels and restaurants, over 150 cultural venues, an expanding hospitality sector and adaptable workspaces that house entrepreneurial start-up businesses to major global brands. It has a rich theatrical heritage; 400 years ago, Shakespeare’s Curtain Theatre was built in Shoreditch. It has been rediscovered and is being transformed into a new heritage destination. Today the performing arts can be found in venues across the neighbourhood.
The area is also home to over 7,000 residents and this is set to increase as more mixed-use development comes forward.
The Council wants to protect and sustain Shoreditch’s unique character alongside managing the pressures that this extraordinary growth brings. To do this an Area Action Plan – Future Shoreditch - is being developed. It will describe a vision for Shoreditch in 2034 and set out the planning policies that will guide and manage development and investment. Once adopted, Future Shoreditch will be an important policy document used to inform planning decisions in Shoreditch.
To start this process, local residents, businesses and visitors are being urged to respond to a consultation and describe what they feel are the key issues, challenges and opportunities facing the neighbourhood and help shape the future vision for Shoreditch.
Shoreditch is at the heart of Britain’s tech and creative industries. It is the home of Tech City, where creative tech, the arts and the sciences meet. The neighbourhood’s unique blend of heritage, culture and commerce is what gives it its special character, attracting workers, residents and visitors alike from around the world. However, this phenomenal growth brings about a demand that drives development, and this needs to be curated and managed in a way that benefits Shoreditch and its future prosperity and sustainability.
This growth can realise great opportunities as well as significant challenges; as demand for space increases, so rents rise and the supply of affordable workspace struggles to meet demand. The challenge is to make sure that the pressure for new development does not exclude new talent from joining this creative community and the ecosystem it has created.
If you feel passionately about Shoreditch and its future then please get involved at this early stage and help create an inclusive and prosperous Future Shoreditch.
Feedback will be help to develop a range of options for Future Shoreditch, which will be consulted on later this year. Look out for more opportunities to get involved throughout the year.
To have your say and to find out more about Future Shoreditch, please visit www.hackney.gov.uk/future-shoreditch before 26 April.