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Reclaim Hampstead old Town Hall, call
Meeting says building belongs to the community
MANAGERS of the former Hampstead Town Hall building in Belsize Park should be sacked and the building reclaimed for local use, a public meeting heard on Monday.
More than 50 residents, including several members of the Friends of Hampstead Town Hall, attended a meeting in the former town hall to discuss concerns with the management of the building by the Interchange Trust.
Interchange, an educational charity, won a £9-million lottery grant ten years ago, working with the Friends and Camden Council, to convert the building into a flagship community centre providing space for 15 resident charities.
But the Trust, which had a public falling out with the Friends earlier this year, has been at the centre of a number of recent complaints – including charging high rents for its resident charities and failing to make full use of the building’s facilities.
At the meeting on Monday, Heath and Hampstead society chairman Tony Hillier, representing the Friends, read out a message from Gerald Isaaman, former chairman of the Friends, urging residents to “re-claim” the building.
Mr Isaaman wrote: “More than £300,000 was also raised by residents to sustain the town hall as an arts centre and meeting place.
“But it has proved a misspent dream.
“The time has come to re-fight that original battle, to turn the tide against those who have destroyed the objective, and put the town hall back under local control, for local people.”
Mr Isaaman’s call was met with unanimous support from the meeting with many residents expressing their own disappointment with the management of the building.
Peter Woodford, also a member of the Friends, said that the building was often empty because of “bad management”. He added: “My feeling is that they should all be sacked and the trustees should go as well.”
Helen Marcus, a former Trustee at Interchange, told the meeting she had resigned from the board because of her dissatisfaction with the management.
She urged residents to sign a petition to send to the Charities commission and trustees.
Resident Myra Farnworth told the meeting that her parents had been married in the building, adding: “This place is part of the community’s history. We put money into the building and we should fight for this to the very end.”
Mr Hillier told the meeting that the Friends would draft a letter to the Charities Commission and the Trustees outlining the community’s complaints with the management of the building.
He said: “Our first requirement is that the trustees recognise us as representatives of the local community. Their refusal to deal with us is extraordinary.
“We would also like the Trust to prepare an annual management plan for the building, to be more transparent with their accounts and to consult with the resident charities on the management.”
There were no representatives from Interchange at the meeting and calls to the chairwoman of trustees were not returned. |
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