Britannia Site update

20 April 2017

Dear Resident, A 25m main swimming pool

We are writing to update you following the Councils A new learner pool
Cabinet meeting on 19 April, when Cabinet members A confidence pool (targeted at 0-5 year olds)
approved proposals for the Britannia site. with flume
The Council will now start work on further developing A childrens soft play area
these plans, which will include a brand new leisure
centre - including a caf and toilets for Shoreditch Squash courts
Park, a much-needed new secondary school and 480 A 180 station fitness suite
new homes, including at least 80 affordable homes.
A spinning studio
At the meeting, councillors considered a report, which
included the results of the consultation, which ran Two exercise studios
from 5 December 2016 to 12 February 2017. Some A sports hall
of the outcomes of that report are detailed in this
leaflet, and you can read the full results at
A multi-use games area on the roof
www.hackney.gov.uk/britannia-site. A caf and toilets (which will also serve
Shoreditch Park users)
The Council also responded in full to other
representations made about the future of this site. A new secondary school will also be built on the site,
As work continues, there will be further opportunities to help meet the demand for school places for local
for you to get fully involved and help to shape the children. The school will provide 900 places, plus a
final development. sixth form. Current legislation does not allow councils
to open new maintained schools, so we are working
In the face of ever decreasing Government funding, with the City of London Academy Trust to provide a
if we are to provide the facilities our community mixed-sex, comprehensive school of the high quality
deserves, we need to work differently. We are Hackney parents have come to expect. We will also be
confident that this project will provide excellent building another new secondary school on the site of
facilities for the local community and look forward to Benthal Primary, which will move to the site currently
keeping you fully involved and informed about this occupied by Nightingale Primary, which is moving to
exciting development. Tiger Way, allowing us to make the best use of school
sites in that part of the borough.
The proposals The new school and leisure centre at Britannia will be
The existing Britannia Leisure Centre was built in two funded in part by the sale of housing, which will also be
stages in the 1970s and 1980s and is now coming built on the site. During the consultation respondents
to the end of its life. The mechanical and electrical indicated a preference for greater density of housing if
systems need replacing and there are leaks from that meant that more affordable homes could be built.
the health suite and pool tanks. Despite small scale At the moment, the Council is looking at providing
refurbishments, the cost of fully refurbishing the 400 private for sale homes in order to raise the funds
centre would be approximately 14m and would for the leisure centre, school and enable us to provide
require it to close for 18-24 months. around 80 affordable homes
We want to build a brand new leisure centre. The The final details of these proposals are all subject to
design of this will be developed in consultation with further consultation, and we will update you in due course.
users but, as a minimum, we expect it to include:
The consultation Timeframe
A development proposal and questionnaire was
sent by Royal Mail to all 6,535 households in Hoxton
East and Shoreditch, the ward in which the Britannia April 2017 Masterplan process will commence
site is located. Copies were also given to parents at
Shoreditch Park Primary School, and were available at
the Britannia Leisure Centre. May 2017 Consultation programme published

An online version was promoted via Hackney Today,

local press and social media. GLL sent an email to Secondary school opens at
September 2017
members and groups regularly booking the leisure temporary site
centre, and 10 drop-in events were held at venues
including the Leisure Centre, Shoreditch Park Primary Planning application expected to be
Spring 2018
School and Colville Community Hall. submitted
479 responses were received; 349 paper copies and
130 online copies. Construction expected to
June 2019
commence
Nearly 60% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed
with proposals to replace Britannia Leisure Centre with
a brand new leisure facility. 18.8% neither agreed nor How can I find out more?
disagreed, and 26.5% disagreed or strongly disagreed.
Further details will be published at www.hackney.gov.
With regard to the housing, 47.8% agreed or strongly uk/britannia-site, in Hackney Today, and via quarterly
agreed with proposals to build private housing on newsletters to those living in the vicinity of Britannia
the site as a means to fund the new facilities. 14.1% Leisure Centre.
neither agreed nor disagreed and 38.2% disagreed or
The timetable of events as part of the ongoing
strongly disagreed.
public consultation on the Britannia proposals will be
Most people (62%) wanted to include affordable housing published in May 2017.
on the site and over 72% agreed or strongly agreed that
the Council should continue to provide secondary school
Yours Sincerely,
places in line with increasing parental demand.
For more details of the consultation visit
www.hackney.gov.uk/britannia-site. Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney
Cllr Jon Burke, Cabinet Member for Energy,
What happens next? Sustainability and Community Services
Council officers will start work on a master plan for the
Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Deputy Mayor of Hackney
whole development. This will include a programme of
Produced by Hackney Design, Communications & Print April 2017 HDS2953

and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People

events to inform and involve local people, leisure centre
users and other stakeholders in developing the proposals, Cllr Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for
ahead of submitting a planning application in early 2018. Neighbourhoods, Transport and Parks
The full timetable of consultation events will be published
shortly online at www.hackney.gov.uk/britannia-site.
and in Hackney Today.