Camden Town Hall urged to hang on to its ‘£56m’ annexe

Published: 4 February 2010
by RICHARD OSLEY

FINANCE chiefs have heard fresh appeals to freeze the sale of Camden’s Town Hall annexe with new claims that the building will be sold off too cheaply.
Bill Reed, from the King’s Cross Conservation Area Advisory Committee, said his calculations suggest that the site attached to the main Town Hall in King’s Cross could be worth as much as £56million and a potential goldmine for any developer who might negotiate a cheaper price. He was among a deputation of residents, businesses and conservationists who recently challenged Lib Dem finance chief Councillor Ralph Scott.
The council say they have to sell because they cannot afford to pay for its upkeep and have eyed up a new site for its offices on the King’s Cross Railway Lands. In a letter to Mr Scott, Mr Reed said: “I find the idea of splitting the Town Hall functions in half, basically because some lifts and electric need refurbishing, flawed. It seems bizarre to choose a low point in the property cycle to sell the existing freehold.”
The financial detail of a deal lined up with an unnamed buyer is cloaked in secrecy. Questions, including how much the council value the site at, have been left unanswered.