Over the years I have had occasion to think about the Old Town Hall and its future use. I have come to the conclusion that my contribution to the debate would be that the council should either keep the old Town Hall and re-purpose it entirely (e.g. as a library and media building), or divest itself entirely of the building putting sufficient clauses in the lease (and/or covenents if applicable) to protect noteworthy architectural features involving listing of this features if actually necessary.I do not think that a half-way approach of letting out part of it on a long term lease while keeping access to other bits of it (like the council chanber) are practical or indeed necessary.Those of you familiar with Ealing's history will know that the NatWest Bank on the Mall/Uxbridge Road close to Ealing Broadway Station was an even older Ealing Town Hall designed and built by Charles Jones the then Borough Engineer. This proved too small as Ealing grew and he designed and built the present Old Town Hall as a larger replacement which is why the two of them look so similar in style. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that there is no reason why we should hang on to the Old Town Hall if it is no longer fit for purpose as a centre of civic government (if relevant architectural features of note are protected) and precedent has show with the Bank that the building will survive.That the Old Town Hall is no longer fit for purpose is exemplified by the bear-pit of a council chanber which is adversarial in design and excludes the public to a small viewing gallery high up. Far better would be some kind of more modern inclusive forum with integral ip TV streaming facilities and capabilities to open up what is performed in a fairly closed forum.I don't think that we should keep the old council chamber in in use, but rather move on to a more appropriate form of more open local government paid for by the sale of a long-term lease on the old building.
Mark Julian Raymond ● 2935d