Assembly Rooms
By Rab MacWilliam
The Assembly Rooms on Church Street, built in 1937 and for years the centre of Stoke Newington cultural life, will re-open in early 2009.
Hackney Council will be spending £8 million to renovate and refurbish the municipal offices and Assembly Hall. The Grade II listed building was closed in 1999. Up to the 1970s, the building played host to popular dance nights and concerts and, after the influx of West Indian immigrants, it was one of the leading ska venues in London. More recently, the Hall was a popular choice for weddings and celebrations, particularly for the Orthodox Jewish and Turkish communities, and it was used for a variety of functions, including the Stoke Newington Festival’s Opera Cabaret.
Although the Council have yet to receive formal planning approval from English Heritage, Clissold Ward councillor Karen Alcock says that they were ‘happy with the application when it was presented’ and she is confident that, although the application has been a lengthy process, approval will be given in the autumn of this year. Work will begin early next year.
The money, says Karen, will not be coming from the Council Tax. ‘No money will be taken from local services’ and it will come from the sale of a plot of land, owned by the Council, in the City. Why has it taken so long to refurbish the building? The Council ‘is in a much better financial position now’ and ‘a lot of thought has gone into this’. The Clissold Leisure Centre disaster appears to have focussed the concentration of the Council on ensuring that all bases have been covered and that all the necessary checks and schedules are in place. The last thing the Council needs is another planning fiasco.
Given that people from across London will probably be coming to the Assembly Rooms, and also given the stringent parking strictures in Stoke Newington, is the Council going to look again at the local parking issue? ‘No special provision will be made for parking. Parking is a Stoke Newington-wide problem and should be considered in that context’. Karen believes that the increasing availability of public transport, including the opening of the new tube station in Dalston and the proliferation of bus routes, will allow people to visit the Assembly Rooms easily and in comfort. Well, we’ll see.
So by 2009 we should have our community centre back again, with a capacity of approximately 500 and home to theatre, music and performance art generally. Also, the renovated Council Chamber in the Town Hall will rotate full Council meetings with Mare Street, welcome news to those who believe that Stokey is overlooked by the Council.
The proposals and plans are on display in Stoke Newington Library. Have a look and let the Council know what you think. |
