Hackney Downs

Hackney Downs is a park and an area of historically common land in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney. The name is sometimes also used to apply to the neighbourhood around the park.

For the railway station, see Hackney Downs railway station.

Hackney Downs
Hackney Downs from the centre of the Downs looking northeast (October 2005)
Hackney Downs Location within Greater London
London borough	Hackney
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
London Assembly	North East

Hackney Downs Park

The Downs open space was originally common land, preserved from the 1860s as parkland as a result of pressure by the Commons Preservation Society. At 16 hectares (40 acres),[1] the park is one of the larger open spaces wholly within the London Borough of Hackney. It has a play area, basketball courts, football pitches and a bowling green.

Occupying, as it does, a fairly central place in Hackney, the park used to be the yearly venue for the popular Hackney Show, but this event — which helped to give a sense of community and identity to an often-troubled borough — has been discontinued in recent times as a cost-cutting measure, as have the regular Fireworks Night shows. The park was given a Green Flag award in July 2008.[2]

Neighbourhood

A map showing the Downs ward of Hackney Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

The ‘Hackney Downs’ neighbourhood can be described as the western part of Lower Clapton; the area to the west of Cricketfield Road and east of the railway line. The streets north and south of the park are dominated by social housing (such as the Nightingale Estate) – these areas were largely rebuilt during the 1930s and 1960s.

Education

For details of education in Hackney Downs, see List of schools in the London Borough of Hackney.

Hackney Downs School was also located here. The site has been redeveloped as the Mossbourne Community Academy.

Governance

There is a Hackney Downs electoral ward where residents elect three local councillors to Hackney Council every 4 years.

Hackney Downs 2018 (3)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Michael Desmond*	2,076	20.7
	Labour	Anna-Joy Rickard*	1,852	18.5
	Labour	Sem Moema	1,687	16.8
	Green	Alastair Binnie-Lubbock	1,597	15.9
	Green	Sheila Menon	1,134	11.3
	Green	Sally Zlotowitz	1,074	10.7
	Conservative	Mohammed Lunat	229	2.2
	Conservative	Yasmin Lunat	214	2.1
	Conservative	Agnieszka Rolkiewicz	122	1.2
Majority
Turnout				39.7
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Hackney Council elections, 2014: Hackney Downs

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Green	Alexander Brown	843	25.1%
	Green	Stuart Coggins	834	24.8%
	Labour	Michael Desmond	2,115	62.9%
	Conservative	Amy Gray	214	6.4%
	Conservative	Duncan Gray	214	6.4%
	Green	Andrew Guise	719	21.4%
	Liberal Democrats	Teena Lashmore	342	10.2%
	Conservative	Izabel Leosz	149	4.4%
	Liberal Democrats	Garry Malcolm	249	7.4%
	Labour	Rick Muir	2,020	60.0%
	Labour	Anna-Joy Rickard	2,100	62.4%
	Liberal Democrats	Mohammed Sadiq	293	8.7%
Majority			1,177	34.9%

Transport and locale

Districts within the London Borough of Hackney.

The two London Overground stations are Hackney Central on the North London line and Hackney Downs on the Lea Valley Lines to Liverpool Street.

References

1. Hackney Downs Common 30 June 2009 (Planning Inspectorate Casework) accessed 19 Sept 2009
2. Hackney Today 188 21 July 2008

External links

• Mossbourne Community Academy
• Blasts From The Past (LBH film of demolition of the tower blocks on the north side of the Downs).