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The Hornsey Town Hall Creative Trust is pleased to announce that it is now a registered charity, having recently been awarded charitable status.

Many thanks to all those who attended and participated in this year’s carol concert and helped to make it such a success.

On Sunday 6th December the annual carol concert in the Hornsey Town Hall square got the festive season off to a rousing start. Many thanks to all those who attended and participated and helped to make it such a success. This year the concert was a partnership event run by the Hornsey Journal, Haringey Council, the Crouch End Project and the Hornsey Town Hall Community Partnership Board. It featured performances by the Crouch End Junior Choir and the world-famous Crouch End Festival Chorus.

The event was a fundraiser for the Help a London Child charity and the Mayor of Haringey’s Special Fund which this year is the Alzheimer’s Society. It was a fitting end to the Crouch End Christmas weekend, staged by the Crouch End Project .

More than 30 local families took part in a Haringey event at the Hornsey Town Hall on 12th October to mark The Big Draw.
More than 30 local families took part in a Haringey event at the Hornsey Town Hall on 12th October to mark The Big Draw.

Artist Sian Pattenden was on hand at Hornsey Town Hall at the weekend to help children to draw the building.

Further details about the national event are at www.thebigdraw.org.uk (external link).

There are activities taking place across the country during October, with events aimed at encouraging people of all ages to take up drawing.

Feysal Shurie age 9, Fuaad Shurie age 11, Mia Stacey age 4 and Julia Sayeau age 4 with artist Sian Pattenden.

We have collated the 400 feedback cards we received during the week of the public exhibition in June and have outlined the results below.

esults of the Public Exhibition for the Future of Hornsey Town Hall

Thank you to everyone who took the time to visit the Hornsey Town Hall Exhibition and who took the trouble to give us their feedback. We had just under 1,000 people through the doors of Hornsey Town Hall during the week of the public exhibition (12th – 18th June). Most people who came were  supportive– over 92% of people who completed a feedback card agreed with the approaches to implement the vision. Generally people were excited about the plans to bring the Town Hall back into public use – especially about the Cinema and refurbishment of the Assembly Hall.

We have collated the feedback cards (nearly 400 cards were completed and approximately 1000 people attended overall) and the project team have met to feedback the verbal comments when talking to visitors.

It was very clear that HornseyTown Hall is a very important local landmark and is its protection and development is very important to people.  In general the vast majority of people were very positive about the proposals and some very constructive and helpful comments were received. The broad responses are outlined below:

There were lots of comments received across all sections of the feedback card so these comments were consolidated to understand what factors were important to people.

The top three areas of interest are explained more below:

Parking/Transport

14% of people who completed a feedback card cited Parking/Transportation as an issue. It is also worth noting that this was by far and away the biggest discussion point when talking to people about the proposals. Views ranged across a broad spectrum – from those wanting to see extensive car parking provision to the rear to those wanted a sustainable transport solution with minimal car parking provision and improved public transport and alternative transport solutions.

Throughout the design process to date and ongoing  the proposals for the newly refurbished town hall have included extensive consideration of what parking provision should be included for on the site, particularly as the consultation on the proposals identified parking in Crouch End as a general concern.

However it is clear that due to the nature of the site Car parking facilities for the public will be limited and will not be extensive. Extensive Public Transport surveys have been carried out and we will endeavour to work with TFL and the Councils Sustainable Transport Team to ensure that Local Transport provision reflects the need of the community and supports the needs of visitors who will be travelling by public transport to the new facilities.

Car Parking and Public transport provision are being carefully considered but ultimately we recognise that difficult decisions are likely to have to be made regarding car parking provision for the Town Hall, particularly when considering Haringey Council’s aim to reduce car dependency and promote travel alternatives including walking, cycling and the use of public transport.

However the Community Partnership Board and Haringey are continuing to work in partnership to develop a strategy  for Crouch End to assess and address any issues around parking on the Town Hall site.

Square/Outdoor Space

12% of people who completed a feedback card mentioned the square and public spaces as important to them. The most popular comment was about the ‘Green’ element of the outdoor space. People were eager for a landscaped, public area.  Interest/Concern was also expressed about the front square and it is evident from written and verbal comments this retentions and development is a vital component of the design – many eager for its modelling on a European ‘piazza’ style design with Cafés and performance spaces integral to this.

Residential

The Residential Element to the project was mentioned on 11% of feedback cards. Generally people were concerned about the impact and design of the new design would impact of the local area particularly the massing. It is important that these concerns about the impact of the residential are considered. It is expected that close consultation with planning authority may mitigate many of these fears. 

Next Steps

All the comments have been fed back to the design team who will consider the comments provided through the next stage of the design. Planning permission for the scheme is planned to be applied for in Autumn . Please watch this space for the latest news on the Hornsey Town Hall Project.

To view a more detailed breakdown of the results of the Exhibition, click here

Read the press release about the Exhibition here 

Hornsey Town Hall opened its doors for London OpenHouse on Saturday 19 September, attracting over 500 visitors.

There were approximately  five guided tours per hour and performances by local theatre group 19.29 helped to bring the building to life.

Major roof repair work is getting underway at the Town Hall. A five week programme will include full waterproofing, repairs to the fabric of the building including coping stones and pointing, and renewal of rainwater outlets and downpipes.

The exhibition will be open to the public on the dates and times listed below;

Friday 12th June 9.00 – 5pm

Saturday 13th June 10.00- 4pm

Sunday 14th June 10.00-4pm

Monday 15th June 9.00 – 5pm

Tuesday 16th June 12.00 – 9pm

Wednesday 17th June 9.00 – 5pm

Thursday 18th June 9.00 – 5pm

Work is currently underway on the options regarding the renaissance of Hornsey Town Hall. Recent activity has included a range of surveys to establish the current condition of the building and examination of the possible uses for the building. The Community Partnership Board is also developing a Business Plan which aims to make the renaissance of this community Asset sustainable and self funding. It is planned that an exhibition will take place starting on 12th June at Hornsey Town Hall to give the public a chance to view the proposals and to make comments about the design – you will also be able to view progress on The Haringey Council website (www.haringey.gov.uk) and subscribe to our mailing list to be kept up to date.

Ann Wilks, Chair of the Community Partnership Board, said: “We have been working hard over the past months with Haringey Council, our consultants Capita Symonds and our architects John McAslan + Partners , who have a fantastic track record with heritage projects like this.

“We now have the opportunity to breathe new life back into this important building, for Crouch End, Haringey and beyond.

“I hope as many people as possible will visit the exhibition look at the plans and give us their views.”

Hornsey Town Hall, the Haringey Council-owned grade 2* listed building in the heart of Crouch End, is currently playing a major part in national and international TV and film productions. Its fine wood panelled rooms, marble staircases and unique exterior are in strong demand for comedies, period dramas and even major feature films.

Its most recent appearance is in Armando Iannucci’s highly-praised satirical take on politics, ‘In the Loop’ (released in UK cinemas on April 17th) doubling as the US State Department Building, where James ‘Tony Soprano’ Gandolfini spent a couple of days on-set filming with the British cast, including Crouch End resident, Peter Capaldi.

Other recent credits for Hornsey Town Hall include feature films Derailed (staring Jennifer Anniston and Clive Owen) where it appeared as a Chicago office Lobby and De Lovely (the biopic of Cole Porter with Kevin Cline and Ashley Judd) playing Art Deco New York.

Recent television credits include the drama series Whitechapel, Silent Witness, Moses Jones, The Curse of Steptoe,10 Days to War and Auf Wiedersehen Pet . The Town Hall has appeared as a police station, mortuary, hospital, post office, Whitehall, courthouse, theatre dressing room and Ugandan nightclub, Cuban Embassy and the Buena Vista Social Club.

The town hall exterior can also be seen in comedies as diverse as Peep Show (watch out for it in the opening sequence) and the classic ‘rom zom com’ Shaun of the Dead. It’s even extended to a brief appearance as a plush hotel lobby in a Lynx advert.

Hornsey Town Hall has also recently supported emerging local filmmakers, being used as a location for Haringey Council’s North London Film Fund short film projects.

The interior features are also currently on display as part of a major Stanley Kubrick exhibition in the BFI Southbank Gallery until 26th April. The distinctive wood panelled offices and marble staircases were used as a backdrop for ‘Unfolding the Aryan Papers’ – a re-imagining of Kubrick’s unfinished film project by Turner Prize nominated artists Jane & Louise Wilson (www.bfi.org.uk/gallery).

The income derived from these uses goes towards the maintenance and upkeep of this award-winning building, built in 1935 by Reginald Uren.

Plans to restore this local landmark as a major centre for arts and the community are now gathering momentum. A public exhibition is being planned for 12-14 June. The project is a culmination of a number of years work in partnership by Haringey Council and the Community Partnership Board.

The refurbishment project will be part-funded by the development of Brownfield land to the rear of the building. It is planned that the Hornsey Town Hall Creative Trust (the successor body to the Community Partnership Board) will take over the running of the building when restoration is completed in 2012. Award-winning architects, John McAslan+ Partners (whose recent projects include The Roundhouse and the De Le Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea), have been appointed to bring the building back to arts and community use as part of a team led by Capita Symonds Ltd.

The following information details the work undertaken so far at Hornsey Town Hall, in terms of surveys conducted

1. A topographical plan of the site, perimeter, adjacent streets and pavements has been undertaken. The existing layout plan of all levels of the building, including a roof plan, has also been created.
2. A visual inspection of the condition of the historic fabric of the building has been undertaken.
3.  The ‘ecological value’ of the site has been identified. This will enable us to keep a look out for protected or notable habitats or species that may be present on or immediately adjacent to the site. 
4. In order to complete the traffic modelling there will have to be up to date traffic surveys conducted for at least four local junctions. This data will be collected for at least a weekday morning and evening peak periods.
   
5. We will also be monitoring the current cracks in the building over the next 21 months.

 Further to these additional surveys that are being carried out, there are a number of investigations taking place, including a structural visual inspection.