Board of Deputies President writes to Mayor of Hackney urging him to avoid ‘chaos’ on Stamford Hill roads

The President of the Board of Deputies,, Marie van der Zyl, has written to the Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville, urging a reconsideration of current plans around road closures during parts of the school day in Stamford Hill.

Whilst expressing sympathy with the aims of the scheme, such as creating safer streets for local schoolchildren and improving the air quality of the local area, the Board of Deputies president warned of likely negative impacts on equality for older and disabled residents, access for Hatzola emergency vehicles, school transport for local residents and access to places of worship for elderly and disabled members of the community, among other issues.

She expressed particular concern at the speed with which proposals are being introduced, without due consideration being given to viable alternatives that might achieve the desired outcomes whilst mitigating some of the likely impacts.

Marie van der Zyl described suggestions from local officials that the scheme be imposed and then impacts considered after that as a ‘recipe for chaos’, and urged the Council to engage in proper consultation before the proposals go live. She also called for a public meeting so that Mr Glanville could hear and act on the concerns of residents directly.

You can read the letter here.