Chair's update: October 2023

Tom Walker, Chair

At long last the restoration project is coming to a conclusion.  The building work is nearly complete, the cafe tender is nearly done and the programme of events is being planned. The council, funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, has led on the project and we are pleased to have been involved all the way. 

As Trustees we were lucky to have a preview visit last week; the restoration of the chapel is beautiful.  The spotlight is obviously on the outputs, but a reminder that we have a cache of relevant documents from around 2019 that explain the strategy and everything that was proposed as part of the application.

Since our last update the Hackney Council Licensing Committee met to determine the conditions for the licensed events. In line with our original response we argued, alongside local residents, for a more balanced approach with fewer licensed events and a management plan to better manage the impacts. We are pleased that the Licensing Committee agreed to such conditions.

Although the Trust will try to do a couple of major events each year as fundraisers, our main focus is on community events that tell the stories of Abney's history and heritage.  We are planning that programme and details on forthcoming events are below.

The Council's borough wide consultation on PSPOs and the proposal for dogs on leads continues.  They have just published new information with more underlying reasoning. We have tried to respond in good faith to all the questions that have been sent our way and we are glad that more details are now available and that people have time to respond.