shaftesburyhall

This is great news.

When you say you will be using the structure of the hall...... do you mean you will be keeping 'The Tin Tabernacle' and restoring/renovating it as the historic external fabric ?  or just the internal hall structure?

When your plans become clearer I am happy to rattle a tin for you on the bridge.... or whatever seems useful.

The plan is that the hall will be available for rent by community groups

All of the surveys that we now have in relation to the structure of the hall confirm that there is nothing of the existing external or internal fabric (timber walls/windows/ceiling/floor and external corrugated cladding and asbestos-based roof cladding) that can be salvaged for the new hall. This comes as no surprise to us as we already knew, for instance, that the original timber flooring is completely rotten and has been covered up (by the previous owners) with a new tongue and groove floor that just hides all of the problems. There are large holes in the timber walls and gaps in the roof - all of which have been with us since we first owned the property in the 1970s.

The surveys do suggest, however, that the timber framework that forms the structural support for the cladding remains sound (for the most part) and we hope that all it needs is to be strengthened in places. It also seems that the foundations will be sufficient for any new build on top of them, so long as we pay due regard to weight and loading (i.e. use appropriate modern materials). Thus, we retain the integrity of the hall framework and the base upon which it stands. The size, shape and form will not be changed so that it covers the same floor 'footprint'. The materials used to clad the framework will be very similar in looks to the existing materials (i.e. retain the same aesthetic design and thus give the impression the old 'tin tabernacle' remains) but will obviously comply with building regulations in terms of thermal retention, 'sustainability', heating, lighting, health and safety, etc., etc. The new materials will be sympathetic to the building's current looks both inside and out.

The current hideous extension to the rear (the area that English Heritage determined detracted so much from the character of the building) will be demolished. A new, more appropriately designed and sited extension will be added to accommodate North London Samaritans' call centre. It will not impinge as the current building does on the neighbouring property in Herbert Road and neither will it detract from the integrity of the hall in its own right. We are trying to be very careful about reintroducing a hall building that can act as a 'stand-alone' feature if it needs to. Thus, we would have what we hope the community wants, the salvaging of a local building of interest that can double as a hire-out facility for all local interest groups and retain the vitally important service that the local volunteer Samaritans have been giving for the past 40 years.

We hope to advertise a public meeting shortly (we are just trying to find a suitable venue) whereby we will invite everyone interested to come and pose their questions and offer their thoughts in relation to what we believe will be in the interests of the majority of the local community. Although we have a certain amount of funds to invest in this project we know we shall need more; only when we have the majority of the local community on our side will we feel ready to go for planning permission and thereafter we shall have a better understanding of how much additional funding we shall need.

Please do not hesitate to ask as many questions as you wish - we feel confident you will not be disappointed by the answers!