Council under pressure over lack of community arts opportunities at Hornsey Town Hall

Long-promised public arts and cultural facilities fall short of what Haringey Council and local community groups had hoped, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Hornsey Town Hall and (inset) cabinet member Emily Arkell

Haringey Council has been accused of prioritising political gain over taking practical steps to deliver community arts opportunities at Hornsey Town Hall in Crouch End.

The newly refurbished Grade 2*- listed building was finally reopened to the public in December last year to much fanfare about the facility providing a new public arts and cultural venue.

Since then, there have been growing concern that the private owners of the building would not be delivering the long-awaited community facilities.

The building was originally closed in 2019 following its sale two years earlier from Haringey Council to Far East Consortium (FEC), a Hong Kong-based property developer.

The deal promised restoration work to the town hall, a new hotel, housing and, in theory, a community arts centre.

New housing and a hotel have been delivered at the site – but progress on public facilities for arts and culture has fallen short of what the council and local community groups had hoped.

In response, Emily Arkell, the council’s cabinet member for culture and leisure, wrote to the CEO of General Projects, the company which runs the town hall on lease from FEC, in late February.

In the letter, shared with the council’s community use and access steering group – and seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) – Cllr Arkel asked for “clear and timely assurances” about plans for management of Hornsey Town Hall as a community arts hub.

Crouch End councillor and fellow steering group member Luke Cawley-Harrison questioned the usefulness of Cllr Arkel’s letter, expressing concern that it would “do nothing but inflame relations” between the council and the companies in charge of Hornsey Town Hall.

Cllr Cawley-Harrison, who is also leader of the Lib Dem opposition in Haringey, sent his response to Cllr Arkel and the wider steering group.

In her letter to the CEO of General Projects, Cllr Arkel argued that FEC, which owns the building and grounds, had “made a number of commitments around community and cultural uses and access to the facilities on the site and those commitments remain binding”.

She noted a number of concerns that had been raised, including the affordability of room hire rates, lack of quality audio and visual equipment for events and “reports of slow or inconsistent communication risking further undermining confidence in the operation of the town hall”.

Cllr Arkel also asked for information from the company on how cultural programmes for the local community will be provided, as well as details on what events have been organised so far.

In his message to Cllr Arkel and the steering group, Cllr Cawley-Harrison argued that the letter was “overtly political” and asking unhelpful questions in a bid to please the public.

The opposition leader argued that much of the information requested was already available – not least in contracts between the local authority, FEC and General Projects.

The most significant detail, he said, was that the council had not put in a legally binding requirement for the private business to deliver an arts centre when it sold the town hall in 2017.

Last year FEC itself sold the Grade 2*-listed building and grounds to financial conglomerate AMTD IDEA Group, a Cayman Islands-based financial conglomerate. However, it is understood that the final sale has yet to be formally completed.

As a result of this, Cllr Cawley-Harrison argued “the current state of things is in fact no great surprise to any of us”.

“Most of us are simply now awaiting the sale of the lease from FEC to AMTD,” he added.

Cllr Cawley-Harrison said the only realistic hope is that the sale, once finalised, will kickstart completion of some aspects of the centre, such as provision of proper equipment for events.

He continued: “What I, and I am sure others in the steering group would probably most like to see from the council at this point, is what legal levers will be pulled to actually ensure that the community receives what it was promised.”

The Lib Dem leader also wants to know to what extent community arts can actually be delivered given the lack of a legally binding agreement when the council sold the building.

In response to questions from the LDRS about the situation at Hornsey Town Hall, Cllr Arkell said: “Our position remains clear that FEC, who own the site, must live up to the commitments to operate the venue and ensure community and cultural usage as set out in the agreements signed in 2017.

“The initial programme was approved last year following consultation with the community use and access steering group, which includes the council, ward councillors, the Crouch End Festival, and other community representatives.

“I’m fully aware concerns have been raised and have written to General Projects, who run the facility for FEC, seeking clear and timely assurances about their plans for management of the town hall as a community and cultural hub, including the level and affordability of room hire and accessibility for the local community.

“These issues require prompt and transparent responses so that we can reassure our residents that the commitments signed up to at the time of sale are being met so our community can benefit from this cultural asset.”

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.