Results of the Public Exhibition for the Future of Hornsey Town Hall

Thank you to everyone who took the time to visit the Hornsey Town Hall Exhibition and who took the trouble to give us their feedback. We had just under 1,000 people through the doors of Hornsey Town Hall during the week of the public exhibition (12th - 18th June). Most people who came were  supportive– over 92% of people who completed a feedback card agreed with the approaches to implement the vision. Generally people were excited about the plans to bring the Town Hall back into public use – especially about the Cinema and refurbishment of the Assembly Hall.

We have collated the feedback cards (nearly 400 cards were completed and approximately 1000 people attended overall) and the project team have met to feedback the verbal comments when talking to visitors.

It was very clear that HornseyTown Hall is a very important local landmark and is its protection and development is very important to people.  In general the vast majority of people were very positive about the proposals and some very constructive and helpful comments were received. The broad responses are outlined below:

There were lots of comments received across all sections of the feedback card so these comments were consolidated to understand what factors were important to people.

The top three areas of interest are explained more below:

Parking/Transport

14% of people who completed a feedback card cited Parking/Transportation as an issue. It is also worth noting that this was by far and away the biggest discussion point when talking to people about the proposals. Views ranged across a broad spectrum – from those wanting to see extensive car parking provision to the rear to those wanted a sustainable transport solution with minimal car parking provision and improved public transport and alternative transport solutions.

Throughout the design process to date and ongoing  the proposals for the newly refurbished town hall have included extensive consideration of what parking provision should be included for on the site, particularly as the consultation on the proposals identified parking in Crouch End as a general concern.

However it is clear that due to the nature of the site Car parking facilities for the public will be limited and will not be extensive. Extensive Public Transport surveys have been carried out and we will endeavour to work with TFL and the Councils Sustainable Transport Team to ensure that Local Transport provision reflects the need of the community and supports the needs of visitors who will be travelling by public transport to the new facilities.

Car Parking and Public transport provision are being carefully considered but ultimately we recognise that difficult decisions are likely to have to be made regarding car parking provision for the Town Hall, particularly when considering Haringey Council’s aim to reduce car dependency and promote travel alternatives including walking, cycling and the use of public transport.

However the Community Partnership Board and Haringey are continuing to work in partnership to develop a strategy  for Crouch End to assess and address any issues around parking on the Town Hall site.

Square/Outdoor Space

12% of people who completed a feedback card mentioned the square and public spaces as important to them. The most popular comment was about the ‘Green’ element of the outdoor space. People were eager for a landscaped, public area.  Interest/Concern was also expressed about the front square and it is evident from written and verbal comments this retentions and development is a vital component of the design – many eager for its modelling on a European ‘piazza’ style design with Cafés and performance spaces integral to this.

The Residential Element to the project was mentioned on 11% of feedback cards. Generally people were concerned about the impact and design of the new design would impact of the local area particularly the massing. It is important that these concerns about the impact of the residential are considered. It is expected that close consultation with planning authority may mitigate many of these fears.

Next Steps

All the comments have been fed back to the design team who will consider the comments provided through the next stage of the design. Planning permission for the scheme is planned to be applied for in Autumn . Please watch this space for the latest news on the Hornsey Town Hall Project.

To view a more detailed breakdown of the results of the Exhibition, click here

Read the press release about the Exhibition here