Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Emergency Committee Meeting: controlled by Council: has martial law been declared?!
ALLY PALLY: 'Emergency Meeting"
THIS evening there is an "emergency" joint meeting of two Alexandra Palace Commitees: the Advisory and the Consultative. The purpose is to hustle through approval of plans associated with the refurbishment of our Charitable Trust's main asset (the building), using funds secured from the council's successful bid application – with cross-party support – to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
As the late Cllr. Pat Egan would say, it's a meeting in public and not a public meeting.
I'm happy to be corrected, but I cannot recall a council meeting being billed (PDF link) as marshalled ("The meeting will be marshalled ...").
If there's worry about disruptive dissent, it somewhat undercuts the general thrust that all the council's consultation was wonderful and everyone's happy.
One only hopes that, unlike some anti-terrorist sky-marshalls, any Council Marshals at this meeting in public, are unarmed. I intend to go unarmed and I hope to be able to speak as a Trustee.
Cllr. Clive Carter
One of c. 57 Trustees of our Charitable Trust
Tags for Forum Posts: Alexandra Palace, Ally Pally, Emergency Meeting, Martial Law, committee, joint
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Farnworth on
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Clive, could you pleas give us an update, if you are still at your liberty, as to what occurred?
Thanks
Dan
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Dan, I can confirm that I'm not currently under house- or any other form of arrest. But it is difficult to type this wearing manacles.
The "emergency" passed without bloodshed. The only council marshalling I observed comprised an employee of our Trust directing a woman – a Trust Beneficiary – not to applause a speaker.
That speaker – who had been lightly applauded by the local resident – was Chair of the Consultative Committee meeting part and a representative of the Hornsey Historical Society.
She had said (I paraphrase) that the 1936 BBC television studios were the most important part of Ally Pally and that the industrial archeology was of much importance. She later had suggested an amendment, that while endorsing the plans for the HLF that an independent opinion be sought about the proposed demolition of all of the front of the studios (i.e. every arch bricked-in by the BBC).
The proposed amendment was defeated, but a similar amendment by the more important Statutory Advisory Committee, was passed. So the authorities didn't get it entirely their own way.
The Chair of the Joint Meeting had earlier claimed that there was "a consensus". This was wishful thinking on his part, because even one of the members of the Design Team conceded honestly that the plans for the studios were contentious.
Archtitecural lecturer Stephen Games spoke and he encapsulated the clash or conflict: do you attempt to restore a Victorian building of dubious merit – or do you recognise the overarching importance of the actual birthplace of television in the few months bridging 1936 and 1937. History of global importance and, if its done right, a future UN World Heritage site.
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