Forum topic: Broomfield House - public consultation begins
Broomfield House - public consultation begins
PGC Webmaster
03 Sep 2015 00:12 #2011
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Starting this week, local people will be asked by Enfield Council to give their views about what should be done with the fire-damaged remains of Broomfield House. The consultation - oneline and by post - will also ask about options for the future of the historic Stableyard and of Broomfield Park as a whole.
This Sunday's Palmers Green Festival will provide an opportunity to find out more about the house and future options. Enfield Council will have a stall where you'll be able to pick up hard copies of the questionnaire and essential background material. It’s hoped that one of the consultants will be available to assist with answering enquiries and help explain the Conservation Management Plan (see below) and how the next step, the Options Appraisal for the future, will work.
Also at the Festival will be representatives of the Broomfield House Trust, who will be happy to give the Trust's own perspective on the way ahead. The Trust considers that it’s vital that there is a positive response to the questionnaire if the Park is to have a future in which the views of the local community are taken in to account.
The online consultation can be found at enfield.gov.uk/broomfield_consultation.
The Council summarises the situation as follows:
Broomfield House and its stable block are buildings of architectural and historic interest, listed by Historic England at Grade II*. The house, which dates from the 16th century, was badly damaged by a series of fires and would cost approximately £6million to fully restore. The stable block and surrounding stable yard is also now in need of repair. Both buildings would need a viable new use. Considering the current pressures on local government funding and competing priorities, the Council is not in a financial position to pay for the rebuilding and running costs from Council money, external funding would be needed.
The Council is working with The Broomfield House Trust, the Friends of Broomfield Park, Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund to look at options for the future of Broomfield House and stable block. We have commissioned a report from independent architects to explore possible options for the future of the house and stable block.
The consultations begins by asking people to choose between some main options for the House and Stableyard:
- Community Hub
- Heritage, arts and cultural destination
- Commercial development
- Residential development
- Make safe and retain as a ruin
- Demolish
- Other
It then asks questions about ways of achieving the preferred outcome.
The report referred to above by the Council is the Conservation Management Plan for Broomfield House and Park, which was commissioned by the Council on the recommendation of Historic England (formerly known as English Heritage). An executive summary ("Key Findings") has now been published and is available on the Enfield Council website. The Broomfield House Trust recommends that people read this before responding to the consultation, as it sets out the key issues, briefly describes the current situation, and lists possible options for the future.
Links to consultation documents
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Broomfield House - public consultation begins
Colin Younger
14 Feb 2016 21:05 #2012
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72 per cent of respondents supported the idea of a community hub or a heritage, arts and cultural centre. Only 17 per cent wanted to see the house used for other things and 6 per cent favoured demolition.
Asked to rate their degree of support for four funding options, 90 per cent favoured the council seeking grants to fund restoration, and 74 per cent favoured the council at least part funding it. Almost 60 per cent of respondents supported the idea of working with a business partner / commercial interests to fund or part-fund the restoration and future running costs and just over 50 per cent agreed that the potential of the stable yard should be investigated. However, these latter two were, not surprisingly, more controversial with 27 percent disagreeing.
A draft ‘long list’ of options is being compiled by consultants Donald Insall Associates. This will include various possible uses for the House and Stable Block which have emerged from an examination of the significance of the site set out in a (still draft) Conservation Management Plan, uses suggested by a significant number of those responding to the public consultation, and those which emerged as a result of the consultants' market analysis. Viable options will be subject to the Phase 2 public consultation in the spring / summer 2016.
After the consultation has been completed a preferred option will be chosen later in 2016.
Although the focus of all this activity is the House and Stableyard, the Conservation Management Plan sets out possible future work on the wider park, in particular on a possible restoration of the Baroque water garden.
Works to make good the scaffold, until the future of the House can be decided, were completed during January 2016, with the help of a grant from Historic England.
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Broomfield House - public consultation begins
Allan Curtis
09 Nov 2023 10:59 #7002
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Re - Broomfield House, Broomfield Park, Palmers Green, London N13.
Several public consultations since the 1980’s to determine a viable future for Broomfield House have proven unsuccessful, from which most, or all of the suggestions offered have proved inadequate to ensure its long- term commercial viability.
It now appears that a fresh survey is being posted on behalf of Enfield Council, asking for individual public suggestions toward the same end.
As a result, it occurred to me that the current world ecological crisis offers a golden opportunity to give Broomfield House a noble new purpose. Given its rich history, and its beautiful, easily accessible, yet protected location, the entire site, after restoration, is ideally placed to be considered as a much needed Nature Conservation Centre, whilst maintaining its historic appearance and focal position in the park.
Its creation would essentially demand the relatively economical reconstruction of the outer shell of the building only, in order to preserve its visual image and historic ambience, whilst leaving its designers ‘carte blanche’ to create a fully equipped, purpose-dedicated interior, offering a pubic interpretive visitors’ information centre, designed to educate people about nature and the environment, with appropriate pro-active exhibitions, demonstrations and films, possible research and public participation / observation facilities, and including an appropriate restaurant / refreshment area with sanitary facilities etc.
Once complete, such a project, in conjunction with the activities of the long-established Broomfield Conservatory, would generate great interest and objective work, and attract many public and professional visitors to the park, whilst serving the growing need for ecological management and regeneration.
The scope of a venture of this nature is enormous, and would, I believe, attract financial support from a considerable number of sympathetic sources, and if realised, would, in the not too distant future, elevate Palmers Green amongst the developing leaders in the ecological regeneration field, and bring much needed revenue for the district’s own regeneration.
May I therefore ask that you commend the above to the survey’s organisers, for their due consideration.
Sent NOVEMBER 2023
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Broomfield House - public consultation begins
Colin Younger
24 Nov 2023 18:06 #7022
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One of the sad things about the history of Broomfield House since the 1984 fire is just how many similar, positive, schemes, have been proposed. The fundamental issue has been the inability to find the necessary funds both to repair/restore/rebuild the house, but also to run and maintain it.
However, the stableblock, though not in the commanding position of the house, is an asset which could for example, fill many of the functions suggested by Allan. The issue is as ever, money.
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