Hackney Residents Clash With Council Over Hoxton Garden Demolition 2026

Key Points

• Hackney Council has announced plans to construct a six-storey residential block containing 32 homes for social rent on the site of the St John’s Community Kitchen Garden in Hoxton.
• Local residents express frustration as the decision coincides with the council’s launch of a campaign to support the creation of allotments on unused land under the Right to Grow initiative.
• The existing 0.25-acre garden features a mature orchard, 15 vegetable beds, a shelter with seating, and two memorial trees planted in memory of a resident’s deceased son.
• Council officials state the new development will include a larger replacement community garden with improved facilities and 25 new trees, though no timeline for its completion has been provided.
• Campaigners have launched an online petition and social media drive to protect the green space, while charity representatives highlight the difficult trade-offs local authorities face regarding housing and land use.

Hackney (East London Times) September 24, 2026 — Residents of an estate in Hoxton have expressed severe opposition following a decision by the Green Party-led Hackney Council to demolish a longstanding community garden to make way for a high-density residential development. The council announced in October 2025 that it intends to construct a six-storey building comprising 32 homes designated for social rent on the land currently occupied by the St John’s Community Kitchen Garden. Although the local authority has pledged to recreate the allotment within the estate grounds, community members have highlighted the lack of a definitive schedule for the re-establishment of the facility and the irreversible loss of mature flora.

Why are St John’s Estate residents protesting against the council’s housing project?

The decision to redevelop the 0.25-acre allotment has drawn criticism from long-term estate residents who have invested substantial labor into cultivating the green space over the past 16 years. The garden currently incorporates a mature orchard producing apples, plums, and grapes, alongside 15 active vegetable beds, a covered shelter with seating, and two mature trees grown from saplings brought from the burial site of a resident’s son.

While the council has indicated intentions to relocate select plants to the designated new site, officers have provided no guarantees regarding the survival of established trees or mature vegetation during the transfer process.

Angela Large, an estate resident of 26 years, questioned the policy consistency of the local authority given its concurrent environmental initiatives. Large stated that

“We’ve put thousands of hours into our space over the years. It’s now an ecosystem that’s growing. You can’t move it.”

Large further noted the apparent contradiction in municipal strategy, stating that

“We’ve been doing that for the last 16 years! It’s a Green council, and they’re destroying gardens.”

The frustration stems from Hackney Council’s recent adoption of a campaign encouraging borough residents to establish allotments on unutilised public land, a policy alignment that residents argue the St John’s site had already achieved independently.

How are community members and charity groups reacting to the redevelopment?

Opposition to the proposed six-storey tower block has led to organized local campaigning, including an online petition securing 125 signatures, targeted social media awareness efforts, and community gathering events on the estate. Residents living in adjacent high-rise units have highlighted the lack of alternative open space in the immediate urban vicinity.

Stephanie Brisley, a 49-year-old former charity worker residing in a nearby high-rise block, emphasized the personal reliance of local occupants on the existing infrastructure. Brisley stated that

“This is all there is for me. We’ve got no other green space.”

Addressing the prospect of the site’s demolition, Brisley added that

“If we lose this, I will actually cry. I don’t think I’m going to take part in the new garden. I just don’t want to start again. They’d have taken away something that I love.”

Advocates for urban agriculture have acknowledged the complex administrative pressures surrounding land allocation within inner-London boroughs. Rachel Dring, Capital Growth Coordinator for the urban food charity Sustain—which spearheaded the national Right to Grow movement—commented on the structural challenges facing municipal planners. Dring noted that

“It’s one of those really difficult trade-offs councils have to make.”

Dring further observed that whilst the borough faces urgent housing demands alongside the need for environmental infrastructure, the timing of the St John’s development relative to the council’s endorsement of the Right to Grow scheme remains “unfortunate.”

What is Hackney Council’s official position on the St John’s Garden site?

Hackney Council has maintained that the redevelopment is essential to address pressing social housing requirements within the borough. Municipal leadership has confirmed that the project will proceed as planned, with all 32 proposed units reserved exclusively for local families currently awaiting social housing placements.

Councillor Alistair Binnie-Lubbock, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Inclusive Neighbourhoods, defended the decision, framing the development as a necessary intervention to alleviate local homelessness and housing insecurity. Councillor Binnie-Lubbock stated in an official release that

“Hackney is facing an acute housing crisis, and these plans will provide 32 desperately-needed homes, every one available for social rent and ring fenced for local families in critical need.”

Addressing concerns regarding the loss of green infrastructure, Councillor Binnie-Lubbock asserted that the design integrates replacement amenities for the estate, stating that

“This is not a question of homes versus community facilities. As part of the changes, we are proposing a new, larger community garden with improved facilities and 25 new trees.”

Background of the development

The St John’s Community Kitchen Garden was originally established by residents of the Hoxton estate 16 years ago, converting a previously unused parcel of land into an open-access agricultural and recreational space. Over the subsequent decade and a half, the site was developed independently by local volunteers without formal commercial oversight, ultimately functioning as a communal resource featuring fruit trees, seasonal vegetable cultivation, and quiet outdoor shelter.

In recent years, inner-London local authorities have faced mounting pressure from central government metrics and expanding waiting lists to maximize residential density on council-owned land. Hackney Borough in particular experiences severe housing pressure, with thousands of households registered on municipal waiting lists for social housing. In response, the council’s regeneration strategies have increasingly prioritized underutilised estate grounds, garages, and infill sites for the construction of 100% social rent developments.

The dispute at the St John’s estate highlights a broader administrative tension across urban governance: balancing localized biodiversity and community assets against municipal statutory obligations to supply affordable housing. The political context is further complicated by the political leadership in Hackney, where the Green Party and local leadership hold key cabinet roles focused on environmental policy. The simultaneous introduction of the borough’s “Right to Grow” policy—designed to remove bureaucratic barriers for citizens seeking to cultivate micro-allotments—has served as a focal point for local critics, who argue that established, long-term green projects should receive protective exemptions from infill housing policies.

Prediction: How this development may affect local residents and council policy

The scheduled demolition of the St John’s Community Kitchen Garden and the subsequent construction of the six-storey residential block is anticipated to impact several key stakeholder groups across the borough in distinct ways:

• St John’s Estate Residents: The immediate consequence for existing tenants will be the complete disruption of an established social and ecological hub. Given that construction projects of this scale typically span 18 to 24 months, residents will experience a multi-year gap without access to local green space. The loss of mature fruit-bearing trees and custom vegetable beds means that even upon completion of the replacement garden, it will require several years for new plantings to reach similar productivity and shade coverage. This interruption risks lowering ongoing community participation in urban agriculture among current residents.
• Applicants on the Social Housing Register: For families currently housed in temporary accommodation or on Hackney’s social housing waiting list, the development represents a tangible increase in available stock. The provision of 32 ring-fenced, 100% social rent units will offer long-term housing security to over three dozen local households, directly easing acute residential overcrowding in the Hoxton area.
• Hackney Council and Municipal Policy: The public friction surrounding the St John’s site is likely to set a policy precedent for future infill developments across the borough. As Hackney Council continues to promote its “Right to Grow” initiative, local neighborhood groups may demand formal legal protections or permanent land-designation status for community gardens to prevent similar redevelopments. To maintain public credibility across both its environmental commitments and housing targets, the council will likely be forced to establish clearer binding guidelines and explicit transition timelines for relocating community assets prior to breaking ground on future infill projects.