Best & Worst Places To Live Hackney: One Year On

Date Published:

06/06/2008

There's an upbeat feeling in Hackney - thanks in part to the Olympic effect - and the future looks positive. But so far we haven't mentioned crime and education, which are major concerns for many of us.

We'll leave that to Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney, who predictably feels optimistic about the progress residents have seen over the last 12 months in this formerly reviled corner of East London.

Jules says, 'Hackney is getting cleaner, greener, and safer, and with better schools - we have achieved the biggest fall in crime of any London borough, down 28 per cent since 2005, exceeding crime targets 18 months ahead of schedule; there were 7,000 fewer crimes in Hackney last year than three years ago, with burglary at its lowest level for nine years - the biggest reduction in London.'

He goes on to say, 'Five years ago, fewer than one third of young people were getting five good GCSEs, this year over 54 per cent achieved this - and our seven year olds saw the biggest improvement in the country. There's a lot going on in Hackney, people love living here, and hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 gives us a unique opportunity to make Hackney a better place to live, work, visit and invest in.'

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