New Morning Lane Tesco plans to put the community first
Any new plans for redevelopment of the Tesco store on Morning Lane will put the priorities of the local community first, Hackney Council has committed.
The Council has now started the process of exploring the best route to meet the Council’s and the community’s ambitions for the site, which could see it begin the process to appoint a new, experienced development partner later this year.
Alongside increased in house capacity and leadership from the Council, this partner would work with the Council as part of a fresh approach to new development at this important town centre site which has the potential to provide much-needed new homes, including affordable homes, workspace, new local jobs, and improved public spaces for Hackney Central.
The proposed approach to appoint a development partner marks a change from a previous option agreement made with Hackney Walk Limited, ensuring that the Council would be a strategic part of any development partnership created and have much greater control over any plans taken forward for the site.
The Council bought the Hackney Central site in 2017 to ensure it could directly influence what would be built in a key town centre location after Tesco announced its intention to find a buyer for the land. The Council previously said it would explore new options for the site once a five year option agreement with Hackney Walk Ltd had come to an end.
We bought the land at Morning Lane five years ago to guarantee redevelopment in a crucial location could only progress with affordable workspace, places for businesses to grow, affordable homes, better public space, and crucially, keeping a Tesco store.
With the previous option agreement now expired, I’m keen that we arrive at the best approach to create a fantastic development that will unlock the huge potential of this key site in the heart of Hackney Central and ensure that the Council’s investment will bring long-term benefits for the community.
Taking a new approach to the delivery will give us even greater say over what is built to ensure we put the community first and undertake genuine engagement on the community’s ambitions for the site – in the same spirit as speaking to thousands of local people about the long-term future of Hackney Central and using community input to inform where we should deliver the genuinely affordable new housing the borough needs.”
That does not mean delivering on these ambitions will be easy. But, however we proceed, we will do so openly, transparently, and alongside the community. The feedback we have already received – around genuinely affordable housing, truly public space and the importance of the Tesco store – will be fundamental to this.
The Council will share further updates on the future of the Morning Lane site later this year.
In the meantime, the Council has been working with local residents, businesses and organisations in Hackney Central to create a new town centre strategy for the area, aiming to help deliver on feedback from thousands of local people through the Hackney Central Conversation. Visit the Hackney Central Regeneration page to find out more.