Save Highbury Roundhouse
By Sarahkk | Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 12:55
You may be aware that the Roundhouse secured the services of The Morton Partnership, one of the most eminent firms of Structural Engineers in the country, which specialises in the rescuing and repair of old buildings. One of their current clients is Westminster Abbey.
After his first inspection Brian Morton was highly critical of the council's record of neglect of the back building and their procedures for monitoring its current condition.
Morton has now had two meetings with the District Surveyor. The first, at the beginning of December, was disappointing. Morton's arguments were disregarded and council officers seemed determined to press ahead with demolition after the New Year holiday. However, officers' conduct at that meeting was so irregular that elected Councillors stepped in and ordered a re-run.
At the second meeting, on 12th January, Morton was listened to. The District Surveyor agreed that, with the supports that are currently in place, the building is not in imminent danger of collapse. So there is no need to demolish it immediately. Morton also presented a scheme of repairs which could be easily and cheaply accomplished. The District Surveyor agreed that, if suitable repairs were implemented, the closure notice could be lifted.
Investigative work will now be carried out to confirm Morton's analysis, the remedial measures required and the relatively modest costs of restoring the building.
So we have won a reprieve but the battle isn't over yet. We still have to persuade the council to do those repairs. We still have to secure a binding commitment for the future of the centre on the site.
How You Can Help
More than ever, we need to show that there is a large measure of public concern about the fate of the Roundhouse. Reaching 1000 signatures on our petition will be a powerful way of showing this.
If each of you gets just two or three of your friends, neighbours, colleagues, to sign our on-line petition, we can achieve this. It's a simple as that, please go to:
www.savehighburyroundhouse.co.uk
Thank you again for your help
Highbury Roundhouse
Comments
Thanks for that Sarah! For those that don't know, Highbury Roundhouse is a community centre near the Emirates Stadium running activities for people of all ages including dance, music and drama classes, playgroups and social clubs. The back building was closed in August 2010 following the discovery of "significant subsidence" and Islington Council has proposed demolishing the building may be the most cost-effective option. As you can see from the above, the District Surveyor disagrees with this assessment and feels the building can be repaired. I'll be signing this petition as I feel community centres play an important role in local life.
By LiseS at 16:02 on 01/02/11
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