A New Chapter for Community and Culture in Hackney

Colvestone Corner is a community-led proposal to bring the former Colvestone Primary School back into public use as a place for learning, creativity, care and connection.

Rooted in Hackney’s long history as a place of arrival and belonging, our vision is for a space that is intentionally centred on Black and Global Majority communities, shaping shared identity and fostering an inclusive culture through connection and exchange.

By centering our project on bottom-up and collective decision making, our goal is for Colvestone Corner to serve as an example of community ownership in Dalston – putting our belief that people deserve a meaningful say on how their neighborhoods develop into practice.

What Colvestone Corner Offers

  • From studios and kitchens to youth, family and garden areas, the site provides flexible spaces designed to evolve with the needs and imagination of local people.

  • Led by Black and Global Majority organisations with long-standing connections to Hackney, our partnership brings trusted expertise in youth work, family support, community wealth building and creative development.

  • Through accessible design, environmental care and community-led decision-making, Colvestone Corner aims to deliver long-term social benefit and support land justice for local people.

  • Profits generated from the project will be directly reinvested into the building or other used to support projects and initiatives locally – rather than moved out of the neighbourhood – to provide opportunities to meet the needs of communities in Dalston and build local wealth.

Colvestone Corner responds to the growing need for accessible, affordable, intergenerational spaces, places where people can gather, create, learn, share food, access support and build lasting connections.

In line with the Council’s ambition, our goal is to unlock social value from underused public assets, offering long-term public benefit, inclusive access and accountable collective stewardship. 

We aim to build community wealth and create new social, cultural, and economic opportunities for the neighbourhood. By reinvesting any profits made into the community, we can support local people, businesses, and groups to develop and grow, serving as a catalyst for further community action in Dalston.

If approved, Colvestone Corner would become a community-owned landmark that supports wellbeing, local enterprise and cultural life, a sanctuary for everyone, shaped by care, creativity and shared responsibility.