Hackney Unveils ‘Good Evening Hackney’ Strategy to Boost Nightlife, Safety and Inclusivity
Hackney Council has launched its new ‘Good Evening Hackney’ strategy — a comprehensive plan to champion the borough’s vibrant nightlife while ensuring safety, inclusivity, and sustainability after dark.
With more visitors arriving post-5pm than almost anywhere else in London — and with Saturday nights often busier than the daytime — the strategy marks a decisive step in managing Hackney’s evolving evening economy.
At the heart of the plan is a commitment to safe and welcoming nighttime spaces. The Council’s welfare pop-ups in Shoreditch, already gaining traction on social media, offer free water, phone charging, safety kits, and advice — staffed by the borough’s enforcement teams to create visible, supportive hubs for revellers.
In response to rising concerns around phone theft, a new initiative allows people to tag their phones with unique QR codes, making it easier for police to track and recover stolen devices.
To help both residents and visitors move confidently through the borough after dark, the Council will launch a ‘Hackney Nights’ map — a free resource highlighting transport options, safe walking routes, public toilets, and accredited venues known for responsible operations and staff training.
Venues that sign up for accreditation will benefit from comprehensive training, including on how to prevent drink spiking, and will receive noise reduction guidance to help them avoid enforcement action — part of a wider push to support long-term, sustainable nightlife businesses.
The strategy also looks to future-proof Hackney’s evening offer as consumer habits shift. Among the ideas in the pipeline are night markets, late-night shopping, and street food pop-ups, with proposals for extended outdoor dining and drinking until midnight in Shoreditch already being supported by a £100,000 grant from the Mayor of London’s Summer Streets Fund.
Accessibility and inclusivity are also key pillars. The Council plans to work with community partners to provide arts and culture discounts for low-income families, ensuring that Hackney’s cultural life remains open to all.
“A vibrant night economy, for everyone”
Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas OBE, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, hailed the plan as an essential evolution of Hackney’s nightlife offer.
“I am proud of Hackney’s vibrant evening and night economy, which has created huge benefits — new jobs, greater investment, and thriving high streets even in tough economic times,” she said.
“But growth has also brought challenges: from managing late-night impacts on residents to keeping public spaces safe from crime and anti-social behaviour. This new strategy is about balancing opportunity with responsibility — making sure our communities benefit first from Hackney’s evening success.”
Fajana-Thomas added that as social and spending patterns shift, Hackney must evolve to stay relevant:
“Hackney can’t remain at the cutting edge by standing still. As people change how they spend their time and money, we want Hackney to remain a go-to destination — not just for nightlife, but for inclusive, safe, and sustainable culture after dark.”
With the Good Evening Hackney plan now in motion, the borough is taking bold steps to redefine what a modern, people-focused night economy looks like — keeping Hackney open, dynamic, and welcoming long after sunset.
