It gives me huge pleasure to formally reopen our beautiful listed Hackney Town Hall to the public, as well as our counter services in the Hackney Service Centre. Our job is to serve the people of Hackney, and to do that well, we need to be present and accessible to them. Whilst many people have found it easier using online services or contacting us over the phone, people are also looking forward to face-to-face contact with the Council. It is so important that more residents can have that contact, request home visits and in person meetings where appropriate, and invite council officers to community meetings and events.”

Whilst most Council services have been operating fully throughout the pandemic, and I want to pay full tribute to those amazing staff who continued to come in to work in our communities when the country was locked down, this day marks an important moment in our journey out of Covid restrictions.

This is such an important moment - and after two years of seeing the Town Hall’s front doors mostly closed to the public - it’s quite an emotional one. This building belongs to the people of Hackney and it is wonderful to be able to welcome them fully inside again, adding to the weddings and citizenship ceremonies which have already been bringing joy back to the building even behind closed doors. We are planning to bring back public tours of the building in the coming months, as well as visits by schools, and it will be wonderful to see the building come fully back to life. I also welcome the full return of in-person services; whilst many of our officers have been working in the community throughout the pandemic, it’s so important that our residents can start to expect a return to face to face support across the Council.

The Council and Council staff are an important part of the life and the economy of Hackney Central and I am also looking forward to welcoming more staff back to our Town Centres over the coming weeks and months.