Dalston is the London Borough of Hackney’s foremost centre and will thus be a major focus for new retail, residential, commercial, leisure and other related development over the coming years. The Borough Council has asked the practice to lead a team prepare a Masterplan to serve as the basis for planning and investment decision-making.

Dalston is a place of tremendous cultural richness. It has unparalleled cultural diversity and is the premiere arts and culture hub within the Borough. Ridley Road Market is a popular local attraction and Kingsland Road is one of North London’s principal thoroughfares. However, traffic congestion and the severance posed by busy roads, railway lines and an introverted shopping centre layout create significant barriers to pedestrian movement.

One of the key masterplan drivers are provided by the major new rail infrastructure projects planned for the area, transforming the way that the centre is connected to the London rail network. Aside from the existing Dalston Kingsland Station, the newly built Dalston Junction East London Line station is soon to form part of the newly branded Overground system. This is potentially to be accompanied by a new station on the proposed Chelsea – Hackney line. The attendant development pressures that this new infrastructure brings is already being felt – providing both challenges and opportunities for the future evolution of the town centre.

The Masterplan presents a series of strategies relating to public realm, land use and neighbourhood-based energy systems, together with more localised guidance that demonstrates site potential.