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An ambitious new climate action plan that sets out how everyone in Hackney could tackle climate change and create a greener, healthier borough was adopted by the Council’s Cabinet last night.The climate action plan shows how businesses, organisations like the Council and the NHS, and local residents can work together to respond to climate change, reduce their impact on the planet and secure benefits for local people, like cleaner air, greener neighbourhoods and cheaper heating and electricity for the future.The plan sets out five themes that define the borough’s response to the climate emergency: Adaptation: Ensuring that Hackney is prepared for and resilient to the impacts of the climate emergency - like flooding or hot weather - protecting the most vulnerable residentsBuildings: Removing gas boilers, adding solar panels and decreasing energy use in the borough’s existing buildings and ensuring new buildings (where required) are fit for the future. This will help to reduce fuel poverty. Transport: Reducing emissions from transport, improving air quality and helping residents live active and healthy lifestyleConsumption: Changing what and how everyone in the borough buys, uses and sells, helping create a new green economy in HackneyEnvironmental quality: Maximising the potential for biodiversity in our green spaces, reducing pollution and helping local ecosystems thrive.Under each theme, the plan sets out goals and objectives for the borough that help guide how residents, businesses and organisations respond to the climate crisis.The plan also recognises the need to make sure the transition to a net zero society is a fair one by reducing inequalities and creating benefits such as improved air quality, better mental health, and biodiversity enhancement. Hundreds of people had their say on the draft climate action plan in autumn last year. Following consultation, the Council has reviewed all the consultation responses and made a number of changes to the climate action plan, including: Making some of its goals more specific and more collective, so they encompass what the whole borough needs to do and are less about the Council, unless it has sole responsibilityAdding some of the actions of what the Council will do in the next three years under each of the climate action plan’s themesOutlining the Council’s approach to meeting significant funding gaps in meeting some of the borough’s net zero commitmentsUnder each of its themes, the climate action plan sets a number of goals for the borough to be achieved by 2030. This will require significant changes in all of our behaviour, infrastructure, business models, and co-operation. These goals are ambitious, borough-wide and aligned with the Paris Agreement. Reaching these goals at a local level doesn’t rely on action by a single organisation, they are for everyone: residents, community groups and organisations, businesses and institutions. AdaptationLocal capacity built to adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.Communities are protected from overheating, reducing the risk of extreme heat impacts on vulnerable groups and critical services.Flood risk is reduced and the existing drainage system is better managed to respond to extreme weather events.New planting in Hackney is resilient to a changing climate, and invasive species and new plant diseases are managed.BuildingsExisting buildings (public and private) have been retrofitted to average EPC B to minimise energy consumption and reduce levels of fuel poverty.63% of buildings (public and private) use low carbon heat sources such as district heat networks, heat pumps and electric heating.All buildings are maintained and refurbished to prolong their lifespans to at least 60 years, where appropriate. Where new buildings are needed, they are ultra-energy efficient and do not use fossil fuels, and they are made from low carbon and reused materials.80 MWp of solar panels and battery storage have been installed on the roofs of all possible buildings (public and private).TransportAt least 59% of journeys that start in Hackney are on foot or by bike, compared to 53% in 2020.Most petrol and diesel vehicles have been phased out: 64% of cars and 68% of vans on the road are battery-powered.Only 5% of trips that start in Hackney are by private car or motorbike, compared to 13% in 2020. Freight traffic is 10% lower than in 2019, with more alternative delivery models on the road – such as cargo bikes.Road space currently used for parking has been reduced to support the promotion of walking, cycling and climate resilience. ConsumptionResidents, businesses and partners make low carbon procurement choices contributing to a 2/3 reduction in average total national consumption emissions, with more products being repaired and reused to extend their useful life.Residents and businesses have actively reduced annual residual waste generation and there is increased participation in recycling and composting programmes, with avoidable food waste 50% less than in 2020. Healthy, plant-based diets are widespread, with reduced rates of food poverty. Half of residents’, partners’ and businesses’ pensions and investments in Hackney are fossil-free, and local wealth is distributed to local, sustainable and cooperatively-run projects.Environmental qualityThe association between inner-London living and poor air quality has been broken, with Hackney meeting World Health Organisation Air Quality targets.Significant ecological improvements have been achieved in all the areas identified in the Hackney Local Nature Recovery Plan.Water bodies in Hackney achieve ‘Good’ ecological status. Average water demand is reduced to 135 l/person/day, including reducing water lost through leaks by 22% compared to 2020.To find out more about the Council’s climate action plan, visit: https://hackney.gov.uk/rebuilding-a-greener-hackney 

Six months ago the Mayor set out our action plan outlining our commitment to redoubling our efforts to tackling damp and mould.We are fully aware of the impact damp and mould has on people’s lives and health. This is why we made a clear promise to improve our response to the issue - not just for the benefit of those living in Hackney Council homes, but also those living in the homes of other social landlords or those renting privately across the borough.Our pledge followed the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from prolonged exposure to mould in his family home in Rochdale, which rightly brought the issue into even sharper focus. Damp and mould is an issue impacting all housing providers across the capital and the country as a whole. However, we are not letting that stand in the way of our efforts to ensure you have a safe, warm and decent place to call home.While there is still much more to do to achieve our ambitions and meet the targets we have set ourselves, we have already made strides towards our goal.So far under our plan we have:launched a new service in January speeding up our response to reports of leaks - with the target of visiting every leak reported by at least the end of the following day. Since it started, 1,130 emergency leak visits have been carried out in an average of 1.5 days. The number of emergency leaks reported has more than doubled compared to this time last year - and we are working towards ensuring we are able to respond to 80% of all reported leaks within our target from next month, including recruiting more plumberstaken steps to inspect around 75% of reports of damp and mould within our five working days target from next month. Since last year, we have had three times the number of reports of damp and mould and we are carrying out inspections on Saturday mornings and recruiting two new specialist officers to carry out the surveys to help towards achieving the inspection target.reevaluated the priority of all our disrepair cases and reports of damp and mould to prioritise any necessary work, taking account of the severity of each case and the age and health of the people living in the home.finalised plans to survey 20% of our homes this financial year to assess their condition, including specific assessments of damp and mould, prioritising blocks more likely to suffer from the issue.developed plans to boost our in-house repairs team from 159 officers to 170  - including a Disrepair and Damp & Mould Manager - to continue to enhance our overall repairs service.responded to more than 120 reports of damp and mould in privately rented homes since 1 December, with each report acted on within five days and enforcement notices served where the landlords failed to take steps to resolve the issue.invested £400,000 in additional officers to step up the number of inspections in the private rented sector – helping to tackle rogue landlords and ensure those privately renting secure the repairs needed to make their homes safe and free from damp and mould.informed the borough’s Tenant Management Organisations - who manage a third of the Council’s houses - of the priorities in our action plan, and we are setting up a workshop with them to discuss and agree roles and responsibilities in dealing with damp and mould so that no cases fall through the gaps between us.written to all housing associations across Hackney for information on the actions they are taking to tackle mould in their homes, and the Mayor is meeting with the Chief Executives on an ongoing basis to ensure they deliver on these.Tackling damp and mould is not a one-off promise or campaign - it’s a long term commitment. The steps we have already taken provide a firm foundation for us to continue to build on our work and achieve our ambitions for tackling the issue.Condensation is a key cause of damp and mould, and there are some simple steps people can take to help reduce its build up and support our efforts to tackle the issue.Keep your home:Clear of moisture - including covering boiling pans when cooking; closing doors to prevent steam escaping into other rooms when cooking, drying clothes, having a bath or shower; and wiping down any areas where there is a build up of moisture.Ventilated - including opening a window or using an extractor fan when cooking or washing; and not blocking air vents.Warm - including using draft proofing to keep heat in your home; and open doors to other rooms to allow the heat to circulate around your home.If anyone detects a leak, I would urge them to contact the repairs centre on 0208 356 3691 as soon as possible so a visit can be scheduled. If the call is outside of normal office hours it will be dealt with in the same way by the Council’s emergency repairs team.

On 22 May, Hackney Council’s Cabinet is meeting to discuss the potential closure of two primary schools and merger of four other schools into two, as a result of the significant decrease in their pupil numbers. The proposals, announced in March this year, are in response to an ongoing decline in the number of school aged children in Hackney, which led to 21% of this year’s reception places remaining unfilled. As schools are financed based on the number of pupils on roll, this means that some are now under serious financial pressure. In April, the leaders of the six schools and Council representatives organised engagement meetings with the parents and staff potentially affected by these plans. The detailed proposals, the reasons behind them, as well as the feedback received so far have been included in the Cabinet report that will inform next week’s decision.If the Cabinet decision is to proceed to the next step, the Council will begin extensive informal consultation with all those potentially affected by the proposals. The results of this consultation would be considered in a second Cabinet meeting, to take place in September-October this year. A final decision would be made in December 2023. No schools would close or merge until September 2024.

Hackney Council has today confirmed its position as one of the greenest in the country by bringing its net zero commitment for its buildings and transport fleet forward to 2030, as it signs up to the UK100 climate network.UK100 is a network of local leaders who have pledged to lead a rapid transition to net zero - with clean air in their communities - ahead of the government’s legal target of 2050.The pledge will see the Council commit to decarbonising its non-tenanted buildings and its transport fleet by 2030, and it will continue to review this commitment to expand its scope over time.The move comes as the Council Cabinet is set to consider a new climate action plan for the borough, which outlines how everyone in the borough - residents, businesses and organisations - can work together to end Hackney’s contribution to climate change.