Sir Keir Starmer made a speech amid much fanfare about the work on the Maitland Park Estate

THE building work was finished three years ago and announced with great fanfare from Camden Council – but people living in Maitland Park still cannot get into their brand-new community hall.

The tantalising resource stands locked up, empty and unused – a facility which residents say would have been a perfect facility during the heatwave summer.

The Maitland Park community hall in Mary Prince House was opened by Sir Keir Starmer in December 2023, at a “naming ceremony” marking the unveiling of 119 new build homes in Maitland Park.

At the time the MP for Holborn and St Pancras praised the new development and photographers were invited to snap the opening party.

But the brand new hall has never been opened to tenants, with kitchen facilities gathering dust, meeting spaces unavailable and even a garden left out of reach.

Delia Grant, a resident of the estate of 21 years said: “I can’t quite believe it’s still empty, it’s an absolute travesty. These spaces are so important for the community, especially on an estate where there are 600 homes and nowhere for the community to gather.

“The hall has brand new facilities, like aircon –the council could be using it as one of their cool spaces that they keep going on about.

“I remember the old hall and how well used it was. The council just doesn’t care or listen to what residents want.”

SEE ALSO WASTED LONDON HOW CAN THE COOPERS LANE COMMUNITY HALL BE STANDING UNUSED?

The previous hall on the estate was knocked down to make way for new homes, with residents saying they were promised a replacement as part of the planning process.

For a year, the council paid for a security guard to watch over the unused space, saying it could not grant access to the Tenants’ and Residents’ Association (TRA) because it was looking for a commercial operator.

The case bears similarities to the new hall built on the Coopers Lane Estate in Somers Town, which we reported on last week and also has been left locked up.

The new build community hall at Maitland Park has only be used for a handful of tenants move but is locked to the public most of the time

An untouched garden behind the hall

In September 2025, the Town Hall agreed for Queens Crescent Community Association to take on the lease in Maitland Park.

But nearly a year later, it has still not moved in. The TRA has only been given access to the hall a handful of times, solely for TRA meetings.

“On a basic level it’s where people can be together and gather. It’s under-utilised, there are so many groups on the estate that would use it – it would be full of people,” said a resident who did not wish to be named.

The resident said the council’s response to the needs of residents had fallen on “deaf ears”, adding: “We have so many ideas about what they would like to see on the estate yet the council don’t listen.

“These spaces, the hall, the garden could be really nice for residents. We send email after email and no wonder people give up.

“We fought for a year and a half to get two bins on the estate. We feel ignored by the council.”

Councillor Steve Adams, leader of the Camden Conservatives, who sits on the Gospel Oak District Management Committee, as an observer said: “Residents have been hurled into the Camden abyss.

“The planning consent refers to it as a TRA hall but it’s a TRA hall that isn’t a TRA hall, it does not do what it says on the tin.

“If it says that is what it is, it’s what it should be, but it’s not – it’s a hall that apparently has to have a paying tenant.

“The irony of this is that the hall is costing vast amounts of money and it’s doing the opposite to being a free provision for residents – it’s actually an expensive waste of space.

“Nobody is prepared to put their hands up and say they have made a balls up. “That would be the grown up thing to do but they are more than happy to bury it in the way that Camden buries things that are inconvenient.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “In March, we agreed to award the lease for managing the hall to Queens Crescent Community Association, following a process which saw more than 20 local organisations express an interest in running the space.

“Work is now underway to finalise the lease terms as soon as possible so the building can become a community hub for activities and services benefiting estate residents, including the TRA, and the wider local community.”