Betty Wright was born in Southgate Town Hall in 1927 and grew up there. She would love to see its interior again before the developers get to work turning it into flats. Someone trying to help her achieve that ambition is Suzanne Beard of Palmers Green Jewel in the North, who recently wrote an open letter to a number of Enfield councillors asking them to try to arrange this, pointing out that she had earlier written to the then Mayor making the same request, but after a promising initial reaction, nothing had come of this.
You can read Suzanne's open letter on her website, which also has an earlier article recounting Betty's memories of living in the basement of the town hall and playing in the Mayor's Parlour as a small girl.
As for the future of the Town Hall, the planning application submitted by Hollybrook Homes was approved by the Planning Committee earlier this month. The developers will create 19 flats within the existing building (10 two-bedroom and 9 one-bedroom). The appearance of the sides of the building facing Green Lanes and the New River should be unaffected, but some extensions will be built at the rear. The developers have undertaken to retain "as much of the internal features as possible". Solar panels will be incorporated into the roof of the rear extension and parking spaces will be provided for 19 cars.
The same Planning Committee meeting also approved an application by Hollybrook Home to build a new apartment block on the former car parking area at the rear of the Town Hall, comprising 18 "affordable" flats - six one-bed, nine two-bed and three three-bed. The flat-roofed L-shaped building will be partly three-storey and partly four-storey. Enfield planners considered that the exterior materials envisaged by the developers - red brick cladding, secondary brown brick and fibre composite weatherboard - create a "successful blend and contrast with Southgate Town Hall".
The Council received twelve letters objecting to the new block. There were objections to its "uninspired design", to the flat roof, which would not blend with the surroundings, to the fact that existing properties would be overlooked, to the reduction in light that would occur, to the additional pressure on services and on various other grounds.
Links to planning application documents:
