Hackney has been in touch with us about the caged sports area on Newnton Close, and we would like to share what we have heard and ask for your views — quickly, because there is a deadline.
Where things stand
The existing surface was part-funded by Arsenal FC when it was first installed. It has deteriorated over time, partly because the artificial grass requires specialist footwear to use safely — something that cannot be enforced on an open-access facility. The pitch is due to be relocated in spring or summer 2028 as part of the Woodberry Down regeneration. Hackney is in discussion with Arsenal FC Youth Development about this.
The proposal for the next two years
In the meantime, Hackney is proposing to resurface the area with tarmac. The key point is that this is a short-term, practical solution for the remaining life of the current site — not a decision about the permanent replacement, which will be subject to the regeneration team’s own consultation in due course.
Tarmac makes sense for an unsupervised, open-access space: it needs no specialist maintenance and it lasts. But it also opens up a more interesting possibility. Painted markings on tarmac can support a much wider range of activities than artificial grass. Hackney has shared with us examples of what that might look like: a giant dartboard with a throwing line, and a snakes and ladders board with a spin-the-dice post. Football lines would be retained as well.
To give a sense of what else tarmac markings can support, it is worth looking at the hard-standing areas in Finsbury Park, which on a Saturday morning host netball, volleyball, basketball and table tennis alongside football. The same surface; different markings; a much wider range of users.
What might work here? We could imagine netball, volleyball, basketball, short tennis, darts, snakes and ladders, hopscotch, chess — or something else entirely that we have not thought of.
What we would like to know
We are not trying to prescribe what the area should look like. We are trying to make sure that the design reflects what residents actually want, before the order is placed.
Hackney needs to move quickly to get the new surface laid before the school holidays. We therefore have about one week to gather your views.
Please tell us in the comments below, or contact WDCO directly at wdco.org.uk:
- Do you support the tarmac proposal for the next two years?
- What activities — beyond football — would you like the markings to support?
- Is there anything else you would like Hackney to consider?
We will pass on what we hear.
WDCO — Woodberry Down Community Organisation — represents all residents on the Woodberry Down Estate. Everyone who lives or works on the estate is a member.
Would love there to be the possibility of a netball and basketball facility there! Tarmac is great but definitely need the markings too.
Thanks, Naomi. Is there a group of you ready to play netball or basketball?
A tarmac area seems like a good plan. The darts and snakes and ladders seem like a gimmick, not sure how they would work. Football, basketball and netball lines seem good. Not sure about tennis, no net. It’s temporary, doesn’t really matter
The Snakes and Ladders is provided with a nearby dice spinning machine. And if it would be used by pre-school young people, then perhaps it doesn’t actually have to work. It’s just colourful markings on the ground. As might be the darts board. Thereby making use of the area when the footballers are busy in school.