Paper petition details
Community Hall known as the Canal Club, Waterloo Gardens, E2 9HP.
On reaching 30 signatures Eligible to present to Council
This Paper petition was received on 29/07/2019.
300 people signed this Paper petition.
This is a paper petition received by the council. It has never been available for signature online.
Council response
Thank you for the petition raised at Full Council on 18th
September regarding the above, and as such I have set out below my
response to the issues that you have raised.
The land on the corner of Waterloo Gardens is occupied by the
building known as the Canal Club, a canal-side community garden, a
ball court and a children's play area. The building is primarily
occupied by Scallmags Community Nursery, part of which is available
for Wellington TRA to use for their meetings, subject to prior
arrangement.
In 2016, the Council undertook review of its community buildings.
As part of the review, this building was identified as being in
need of repair and set on a site that had potential for
redevelopment. Despite a series of repairs having been carried out
on the roof, there have continued to be water leaks and a new roof
is required and repairs to the internal damage caused by the leaks.
The boiler system is not working and this has meant that the
nursery providers have to use stand-alone water and electric
heaters for some time. Given the extent of disrepair, the nursery
is no longer able to operate effectively in the building and is in
the process of moving to Mowlem Children's Centre.
An initial feasibility appraisal was carried out in September 2017. The appraisal provided estimated costs for refurbishment and redevelopment. The indicative cost for refurbishing and remodelling the building to bring it up to the standard required for community activity and create a series of spaces for shared use was in the region of 2500,000. The indicative cost of developing the site to create a replacement community facility, to include a space for the nursery, with 8 new council homes above, was in the region of 22m. Based on current build costs, the potential for the site to deliver 14 new council homes, the estimated build cost has increased to E5.6m
The need for good quality open spaces across the borough is recognised and this is balanced with the need to provide more council homes for rent. The design proposals for the site include the replacement of all existing facilities, including the nursery, community space for Wellington Estate TRA and indoor youth activities, the retention of the existing community garden, ball court and children's playground, in addition to provision of 14 much needed new council homes.
Ann Sutcliffe, Corporate Director, Place Directorate