Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Demolition of Finsbury Park Pavilion
The unpublicised demolition of the pavilion on the old cricket pitch in Finsbury Park has arisen in a couple of recent threads. In the latest thread one member commented:
demolition of this building should have its own thread. I'm sure loads of locals would be interested but it's tucked away here
So here we are.
In short the issue is that the derelict 1950s pavilion on the old cricket pitch in the Harringay corner of Finsbury Park is due for demolition. On the face of it, it's an unlovely and unloved building that many might think is better demolished. It's only current use is by homeless sleepers. However, I look at it and see potential. So since learning about the plan I've been trying to find out a bit more.
Initially I questioned the demolition decision and left it at that. A few days later I bumped into a local business owner who, it transpired in conversation, had been talking to the Council about taking on the building as a community cafe. He has great plans including open air theatre in front of the building. However, his plans were stopped in their tracks by the Council's demand for a £300,000 premium.
This building has a great position, right on the banks of the river. Establishing it as a community cafe would be a great asset for us all and would not impinge on the current use of the baseball field, in fact I imagine it would be a great amenity for the baseball players.
I've been trying to find out if a structural survey has been done to establish its structural integrity. As far as I've yet been able to discover, no survey has been done. If the building is beyond economic repair, fair enough, knock it down. If it's not, it could be brought back into use, with the leaseholder taking on the burden of refurbishment, I suppose. Once in use, it would generate a handy income stream for the park.
I've been in touch with the Council Leader, our councillors and our MP. So far, the best response I've had has been from Claire Kober who sent a response with, what I thought was a poorly argued case for demolition (I'm supposing that it was prepared by an officer for Cllr Kober).
The demolition is scheduled for September. Apparently neither local councillors, the Friends of Finsbury Park, nor local residents have been consulted. I'd like to see the demolition halted whilst this missing stage is implemented.
Here's where the topic was first mentioned, by Cllr James Ryan, and here's where it was picked up again last week.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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THANKS Phil, that's helpful.
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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If the Council were to install some cots and futons, eiderdown duvets and basic underfloor heating, it would cost them less than £60K and those "rough sleepers" might lose some of their rougher edges and enjoy the odd good night's sleep.
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Permalink Reply by ant on
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Just as an FYI, from that reply from Nes i'd asked about the bit that says - "If there remains interest in the community for some kind of community space in this area of the park then we should be looking at the other pavilion which is about 200m away" - I'd thought that was leased to the baseball club and so unavailable but have now been told:
The pavilion in question, whilst used by the Mets Baseball Club, is not leased to them. There have been several expressions of interest expressed following the notification of the demolition of derelict pavilion on the edge of the baseball area. We are yet to have any discussion with the Mets about sharing the pavilion, but if there is genuine community interest in making more use of the building when not used by the Mets, we are willing to engage in such conversations. However, any proposed used would need to make a positive contribution to the park and its use.
So thats interesting. Would also be interesting to find what the lease actually does cover and if it really is whats preventing having a new entrance gate to the park at the Endymion Road / Green Lanes corner.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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It's an unofficial figure, not given to me by the Council. It may be wrong, but at any rate it's not the issue for me.
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Permalink Reply by Robin Dennis on
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Well, the figure may include the demolition of "the redundant pavillion in Chestnuts Park" -- first time I've heard of that...
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Permalink Reply by GillianM on
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£300,000!?! I don't understand this bit. It's of no value to the council and in fact will apparently cost tens of thousands to demolish, so what can the justification be for this cost?
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It is a nice idea but there are already coffee places in Finsbury Park if my memory is good. Would it be a good idea to spent all that money to refurbish this building if the location is not viable and if it has to compete against the existing established businesses? It sounds to me that demolishing the building could be the best way forward.
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The Council doesn't seek to involve itself in controlling market forces in the high street and nor should it in our parks.
As far as I'm aware there's only one true park cafe in Finsbury Park and that's up by the Lake. The cafe in the old toilet block by Manor House tube is on the main road and backs on to the park.
The plans I heard for turning the pavilion turned into a cafe suggest a very different proposition to the lake cafe and would target a different demographic, in particular Harringay & Stroud Green residents.
Any money needed for refurbishment would be spent by the business, not the Council.
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The Council doesn't seek to involve itself in controlling market forces in the high street and nor should it in our parks.
Hugh, I disagree on several levels.
First, the Council has sought to involve itself in controlling market forces in the High Street when it comes to betting shops. I happen to agree with this approach – I suspect you might too.
Second, some would argue that there are already too many 'market forces' operating in our park. Next year, the Council Cabinet's Concerts Policy will see a big expansion, with attendant wear and tear on our park and the denial of the centre of the park, to the public, at the height of the summer, for lengthy periods.
It appears that the Council's Finsbury Park Strategy/Stakeholder group is intended to mitigate the worst effects of their Concerts Policy – but not to advance our park as a public park. I doubt that that would qualify as controlling market forces in our park. I worry that some in the Council now see our park as little more than a large commercial platform.
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Perhaps I expressed myself poorly in my last comment about market forces. What I intended to refer to, as per the context of the conversation, was the competition element of market forces.
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Permalink Reply by rosyrose on
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It's notable that the demolition of the Chestnuts Park pavilion is agreed with a local representative group and is part of a planned strategy for improvement. Neither of those things seems to be true for FP. A quick skim of the management plan seems to throw up no mention of this building or a plan for demolition. I can't find the friends of FP vision online - it would be interesting to know what they think about this.
But to be honest, while I deplore the lack of consultation and communication, on mature consideration, I wouldn't be that sorry to see the back of this structure. It is undeniably ugly and a locus for the kind of anti-social behaviour which can make the park feel a little too edgy (the homeless camp at the back of the gallery gets to be the same from time to time). The half timbered pavilion further along the field would be a much more obvious bet for development.
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