Tenants wanted a replacement hall as things were on the Coopers Lane Estate in Somers Town

IT was built with the promise of being a community space which would be handed to tenants to run.

But two years on, the brand new Coopers Lane Tenants Hall in Somers Town still stands empty, with residents accusing the council of leaving a much needed community facility unusued.

This week, the New Journal tried to find out what had gone wrong as part of our new Wasted London series, examining silent construction sites, empty property and the bricks and mortar which hardly ever see a human.

The Coopers Lane Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) has run a tenants hall on the estate since the 1970s.

In 2022, its old hall was demolished as part of a housing regeneration scheme and tenants were told they would have the same agreement to run the replacement hall.

Once it was built, the council, however, selected the New Horizons Youth Centre – a charity which supports young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness – as a tenant to run the building and share with residents.

The charity has since withdrawn from the arrangement.

In the meantime, the new hall has been done up with new lighting fixtures, floors and a new kitchen but has been kept locked up all summer.

Tenants say the space could have been put to good use for children’s activities, events and bingo.

Paul Tomlinson, a former Labour councillor in Somers Town, said: “If there isn’t a hall there tenants miss it – but it’s not just the tenants it’s the council as well and the council relies on these spaces to communicate with tenants, arrange meetings or consultations.

“They need these spaces as well, or otherwise they end up going to the Town Hall or Crowndale centre which feels removed. These places are incredibly valuable and increasingly so. I think the council is trying to realise its assets and is looking for money anywhere it can get.

“I would like to see it go back into the tenants hands because I think they are able to do it and they are capable. The main point is that tenants ought to be able to use it to benefit other tenants and the local community, that’s what it’s all about.”

The Town Hall has said that the community space needs to be let and managed through a contractual agreement with a legal entity and that TRAs has no legal status to do so.

It added that changes to the Building Safety Act mean the Coopers Lane Community Hall must be managed by a third party.

But James Butler, chair of the Coopers Lane TRA, said: “Other TRAs run their halls with arrangements. They are saying they need a charitable organisation who can run it responsibly but we have been running it responsibly for years, it’s rubbish.

“We should definitely be thinking about why it’s empty, and why it’s not being used. It’s just another example of underused property owned by the council.”

The community hall is there but the community can’t use it

He added: “The community hall is priceless to the estate, and priceless to all estates in Camden. We have no community space, where we can get together as tenants.

“At least if we had the hall we could introduce things, like where kids can go after school, set up a play school, and it’s good for the estate, people getting to know their neighbours.

“We’re very angry they won’t give us it back. “We’re seeking legal advice on this and we’re going to fight, we have to fight.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We recognise the value of the TRA and the Council is currently reviewing the best options to proceed with management of this community hall.

“We have a duty to ensure our buildings are safe and meet regulations as required by law – due to stricter building and fire safety regulations in place, this requires a leaseholder who can legally enter a contractual agreement and be responsible for ensuring compliance and full maintenance of the space.”

Our Wasted London series is investigating all kinds of underused properties – from social housing which could be used to soothe the long waiting list for homes, vacant commercial units which make high streets feel dead and locked up community spaces which could be used for the common good.