Hackney caters for ultra-Orthodox Jewish community with lifts that do not need manual operation and open balconies

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A London council is to build housing with religiously compliant features designed to appeal to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, in what is thought to be a first for a local authority.

Hackney council’s development, Tower Court in Stamford Hill, north-east London, will include lifts which do not require manual operation on Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath; open balconies to accommodate temporary enclosures during the religious holiday of Sukkot, and separate kitchens which can be easily adapted to kosher requirements.



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Some of the 132 flats will be larger than the norm, with four or five bedrooms. Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, families typically include seven or eight children.



The development will also house the London headquarters of Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer medical emergency service, which operates around the world.



Tower Court used to be an estate of 67 homes, which was demolished in 2014 ahead of regeneration. The project was put out to competitive tender, with a brief to pay special attention to the the housing requirements of the Haredi community.



Thirty-five percent of the new homes will be available for social rent, with half sold on the open market and 15% sold under special schemes such as shared ownership.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Design and access statement for Tower Court. Photograph: Adam Khan Architects & muf architecture/art

“All homes for rent will be allocated according to housing needs,” said a spokesperson for Hackney council. The flats had not been designed solely for Haredi families, he stressed, and they would not be prioritised. Some flats would be allocated to former tenants of the demolished estate.



Stamford Hill is home to more than 30,000 Haredi Jews, one of the largest communities in Europe, which is growing at a rate of about 4% a year. A shortage of suitable available housing has forced some members of the community to leave London to establish a new Haredi community in Canvey Island, Essex.



Adam Khan Architects, which is responsible for the design of the new development, held consultation sessions with the Haredi community to establish its needs and priorities.



“We showed models and drawings, and we had people grabbing the pencils out of our hands to show us what they wanted,” Khan told the Guardian. “They were very generous in sharing intimate details of family life to give us a better understanding.”



Among the issues raised by Haredi families during the consultation were the need for a wall to accommodate shelves of religious books; master bedrooms to be big enough to hold twin beds, and storage space sufficient for meat and dairy kitchen equipment and ceremonial dishes.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Some flat will have open balconies for temporary enclosures used during religious holiday of Sukkot. Photograph: AKA MUF

The development will include door entry systems and a lift which complies with the rules of Shabbat, under which observant Jews are forbidden from activating electrical equipment. Some flats will have open balconies required for the erection of sukkah, the temporary enclosure in which observant Jews eat and sleep during the religious holiday of Sukkot.

Rabbi Abraham Pinter, who speaks for the Stamford Hill Haredi community, said the development was “really exciting”.



“The council is putting a lot of effort into recognising the community’s needs, which is quite difficult in an area of inner London where there are a lot of competing needs,” he said.



“This is a major development the council has initiated. It is appreciated, and hopefully it will lead to other developments.”



Philip Glanville, the mayor of Hackney, said: “With 13,000 families on the council’s housing waiting list and 3,000 households in currently living in temporary accommodation, we are not only doing everything we can to build the new homes Hackney needs, but making sure that these are firmly rooted in their communities.



Construction of the flats is expected to begin early next year, and be completed in 2020 or 2021.