New Ward Forum to Replace Neighbourhood Committee

The Shoreditch Neighbourhood Committee, which cut across, Hoxton, Haggerston, De Beauvoir and Queensbridge wards, held its last meeting on Thursday 19 April and will be replace by 19 new ward forums.

The new ward forums will focus on local issues and improvement plans for the ward will be developed and will provide a starting point for setting the agenda.  These improvement plans will also become the vehicle through which residents and councillors can work together to focus efforts to make a difference in the area.

The date of the first meeting of the new Hoxton ward forum is yet to be announced but full details will be published in Hackney Today, on the Council's website.  We will also use emails to inform residents of the first meeting where appropriate.

Also keep checking our blog and twitter stream for more news.

2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Get Involved

If you still haven't applied for tickets for the 2012 Olympic Games, there is still time.  Tickets went on sale again on 11 May and will close again today, 17 May.  If you don't manage to submit an application, don't worry, there will be three more rounds before the Games start.  For more information go to the London 2012 website here.

If you're not successful at getting tickets for the Olympic and Paralympics Games, there are still lots of ways that you can get involved as there are still a number of events taking place in Hackney and around London.

Just a few are listed below.  For full details, click the links.

• To see how Hackney has changed  in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, see the Mapping the Change exhibition at Hackney Museum. 
• The 5th Field Day celebration will take place at Victoria Park on 2 June.  Find out how you can get tickets on the website here. 
• The Shoreditch Fringe will be a seven week festival taking place around Shoreditch between 6 July and 27 August.  Find out more on their website here.
• See four new films premiering at the Hackney Picturehouse.  The films will be simulcast to 50 cinemas across the UK. For info click here.
• There will be a range of Big Dance events both in Hackney and across London.  More information is on the Big Dance website here. 
• To mark 50 years of Jamaican independence, join the celebration of Jamaican music and culture at Mabley Green on 15 July.
• The Scipmylo Festival will take place between 27 July and 12 August on Hackney Marshes.  There will be a celebration of music, theatre, comedy and food.  Shows are ticketed by access to the site is free.  See the Scipmylo website for more information.
• One Hackney Festival will take place on 21 July to welcome the Olympic flame to the borough.  There will be a street parade culminating with an event in Clissold Park with special guests from Rio, Liverpool and Glasgow.  More information is available on the council website. 

For more information on events taking place in Hackney, visit the Hackney website or email the Olympic unit. You can also download 'Eveyone's Games', the Guide to the 2012 Olympic and Paralymic Games.

But most of all, have have fun and enjoy and let Hoxton Councillors know what you'll be up to through out the Games. You can tweet us at @welovehoxton.