Hackney Council Cancels Brooksby’s Walk Toilets Sale After Campaign, Clapton 2026

Key Points

• Hackney Council’s new Green administration has cancelled Labour’s plans to sell derelict public toilets on Brooksby’s Walk, Clapton
• The decision was confirmed at a cabinet meeting on Monday, July 20, 2026, following pressure from the Clapton Improvement Society (CIS)
• The 1930s building has not functioned as public toilets for approximately two decades
• CIS spokesperson Jon Aldenton called the proposed sale “complete madness” and “crazy economics” at a protest outside Town Hall
• Eastern Hackney has only 11 public toilets, disproportionately affecting wheelchair users and people with mobility problems
• Cabinet Member Cllr Rachel Nkiessu-Guifo confirmed the council would consider “credible” community-led alternatives through a “fair and time-limited” process
• The council faces a forecasted overspend of £5.4m, according to Cabinet Member for Finance Cllr Florence Schechter
• CIS claims to have “a watertight plan” for a community-led, environmentally-friendly initiative to generate income for the public and council at zero cost to the community
• Previous redevelopment proposals included a community cafe ‘Nana’ (closed 2015), rooftop restaurant Brooksby’s Walk (closed 2018), and a Homerton Hospital sickle cell clinic proposal that never materialised
• Labour signed off on the sale in December 2025, citing costly restoration requirements and revenue generation needs

Clapton (East London Times) July 29, 2026 – Hackney Council has reversed its decision to sell off derelict public toilets on Brooksby’s Walk in Clapton, marking a significant victory for community campaigners who have fought to keep the site in public use.

What prompted Hackney Council’s decision to cancel the Brooksby’s Walk toilets sale?

The new Green administration officially scrapped the Labour party’s plans to dispose of the vacant council-owned site on Brooksby’s Walk overlooking Chatsworth Road during a cabinet meeting on Monday evening, July 20, 2026.

The building has not served its original purpose as public toilets for around two decades, according to reporting by Josef Steen of MyLondon.

As reported by Josef Steen of MyLondon, the Clapton Improvement Society (CIS), a community group established to revitalise vacant properties in the area, argued that the boarded-up building was “readily able to restore for public use and benefit”.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) at a protest outside the Town Hall on Monday, the group’s spokesperson Jon Aldenton denounced the proposed sale as “complete madness”.

“It’s crazy economics because if you sell off assets to meet a revenue budget, you never get them back,”

Aldenton told the LDRS, as documented by Steen in MyLondon.

Why do campaigners oppose selling the Brooksby’s Walk public toilets?

Opponents of the sale highlighted that the eastern part of Hackney borough has only 11 public toilets, a situation that unfairly impacts wheelchair users and those with mobility problems, according to reporting by Josef Steen of MyLondon.

The CIS claims they have “a watertight plan to create an environmentally-friendly, community-led initiative to generate income for the public and the council at zero cost to the community,” though the finer points of this plan have not been disclosed, as reported by Steen in MyLondon.

At a cabinet meeting on Monday evening, senior councillors accepted the campaigners’ demands, citing both the “strength of feeling” and the Green Party’s election manifesto pledge to bring more council-owned buildings into public use, according to Steen’s reporting in MyLondon.

Cllr Rachel Nkiessu-Guifo, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy, Skills, High Streets and Markets, confirmed the council would trigger a “fair and time-limited” process to consider “credible” community-led alternatives, as reported by Josef Steen of MyLondon.

“Any solution must respond to the very real financial pressures the council faces,” Nkiessu-Guifo added, according to Steen’s account in MyLondon.

What is the financial situation facing Hackney Council?

The decision comes as the new administration confirmed the borough continues to face a “real financial crisis”, according to reporting by Josef Steen of MyLondon.

At Monday’s meeting, Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Florence Schechter, put the council’s current forecasted overspend at £5.4m, as documented by Steen in MyLondon.

In December 2025, the Labour-run council signed off on plans to sell the site, due to the costly investment required to restore the building and its need to generate revenue, according to Steen’s reporting in MyLondon. But after the party’s defeat at the May elections, the CIS revived its campaign to keep the toilets in public use, as reported by Josef Steen of MyLondon.

What is the history of the Brooksby’s Walk toilets site?

The toilets in the 1930s-era building have a history of redevelopment plans, including proposals for the nearby Homerton Hospital to turn the site into a sickle cell clinic, but this never materialised, according to reporting by Josef Steen of MyLondon.

In recent years the building played host to a community cafe, ‘Nana’, until 2015 when it was forced to shut, triggering a campaign by CIS to safeguard the site, as documented by Steen in MyLondon.

The loos later became home to a rooftop restaurant, Brooksby’s Walk, but by 2018 its doors had also closed, according to Steen’s reporting in MyLondon.

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Background of the Brooksby’s Walk Toilets Development

The Brooksby’s Walk public toilets site has been at the centre of community debate for more than a decade. Historical records from the Hackney Citizen show that a campaign to save the toilets from council plans to sell them off and develop the site with shops and flats gathered significant support as early as 2011, with over 750 people signing a petition objecting to the demolition.

In 2012, Clapton residents and traders expressed concern about the future of the Chatsworth Road public toilets after Homerton Hospital emerged with hopes to buy and redevelop the site to build a sickle cell centre, according to Hackney Citizen reporting.

The Clapton Improvement Society maintained support for the clinic while urging that the site could accommodate both the clinic and public toilets, with Jon Aldenton stating:

“We’re very much in support of the clinic. We just need to be imaginative – there is plenty of space on the existing site for the clinic, they could easily design the clinic and let us keep the toilets.”

Hackney Council confirmed in 2012 that Homerton Hospital had sent in a proposal, with the council stating it wanted to ensure the site was used for community benefit while finding a solution that met both parties’ aims, including provision of a public toilet, according to Hackney Citizen reporting.

By 2016, Hackney Council was considering competing proposals for the vacant Brooksby’s Walk site from both Homerton Hospital chiefs and the Clapton Improvement Society, as reported by the Hackney Citizen.

In 2018, the Town Hall announced it would not renew the Clapton Improvement Society’s lease for Brooksby’s Walk loos due to concerns over income and health and safety, according to Hackney Citizen coverage.

Prediction: How This Development Could Affect Local Communities and Campaigners

The council’s U-turn on the Brooksby’s Walk toilets sale is likely to have several implications for different audiences in the coming months.

For local residents and community groups in eastern Hackney, the decision preserves the possibility of restoring public toilet facilities in an area where accessibility remains a concern.

With only 11 public toilets serving the eastern part of the borough, the retention of this site could address mobility and accessibility challenges for wheelchair users and elderly residents if successfully restored.

For the Clapton Improvement Society and similar grassroots organisations, this victory demonstrates that sustained community campaigning can influence council policy even when facing financial pressures.

The CIS’s “watertight plan” will now face scrutiny through the council’s “fair and time-limited” process, testing whether community-led initiatives can deliver financially viable alternatives to asset sales.

For Hackney Council’s new Green administration, the reversal aligns with manifesto commitments to bring council-owned buildings into public use but must be balanced against the £5.4m forecasted overspend identified by Cllr Florence Schechter.

The success or failure of whatever community-led proposal emerges from the CIS will likely influence future decisions on similar council assets across the borough.

For other community groups monitoring council asset disposals, this case may serve as a precedent, potentially encouraging similar campaigns where groups believe they can present credible alternatives to sales. However, Cllr Nkiessu-Guifo’s emphasis that

“any solution must respond to the very real financial pressures the council faces”

suggests the council will apply strict financial viability criteria to any proposals.

The outcome of the CIS’s undisclosed plan, when revealed, will ultimately determine whether this U-turn represents a sustainable long-term solution or a temporary reprieve for a site that has seen multiple failed ventures since 2015.