Hornsey Town Hall Construction Steering Group September 2020

Meeting Minutes:

Wednesday 9th September 2020, 5pm

Attendees:

BP Beth Park (Newington Communications) Chair
PB Phil Briscoe (Newington Communications) Secretary
MA Mark Afford (Crouch End Conservation Area Advisory Committee)
AC Amanda Carrara (Crouch End Festival)
LCH Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison (Haringey Council)
SC Susan Cooper (Resident Representative)
KG Katy Ghahremani (Make Architects)
LG Laura Griffiths (Newington Communications)
DH Dean Hermitage (Haringey Council)
SL Scott Lau (Far East Consortium)
AM Andrew Major (The Time + Space Co.)
MP Miranda Pattinson (Resident Representative)
JP Joe Pitt (Ardmore Construction)
NP Nick Poon (Far East Consortium)
LS Liz Sich (Hornsey Town Hall Trust)
AW Angela Walsh (Far East Consortium)

Apologies:

Benjamin Lesser (Hornsey Town Hall Trust)
Simon Neil (Haringey Council)
Bob Appleby (Haringey Council)
Piers Read (The Time + Space Co.)
Sharon Kean (Weston and Haringey Park Residents’ Association)
Ruth Selig (Weston and Haringey Park Residents’ Association)
Kathy Smith (Weston and Haringey Park Residents’ Association)
Charlie Sharp (CEF)

1 Virtual Meeting Procedure

1.1 BP thanked everyone for joining the meeting and outlined the virtual meeting procedure.

2 Attendance

2.1 BP read through the list of expected attendees, to confirm who was in attendance.

3 Minutes of the Last Meeting

3.1 LS asked about the meeting distribution timescales and BP confirmed that they would be circulated shortly after each meeting, but this could only be in draft form, until they were formally approved at the subsequent meeting.
3.2 The minutes from the previous meeting were approved on a proposal from SC.

4 Update from Ardmore Construction

4.1 JP provided an overview of the latest onsite activity, including concrete frames and other works to blocks A and B, ahead of internal fit-out starting. In the main building, works were taking place on the theatre area, including new panelling being installed.

4.2 JP also provided an update on the Town Hall Square works that will be starting shortly, with the hoardings being put in place this month.

4.3 BP highlighted the Ardmore Meet The Builder event which would take place on 23rd September and would be in a similar format as the CSG as a virtual Zoom webinar, but for local residents.

4.4 LCH asked about the publicity and invitations for the Meet The Builder event and BP confirmed that invitations would be posted to the surrounding area, plus emails will be sent to everyone on the existing distribution list. LCH asked about advertising it more widely in the councillor Focus leaflet and BP confirmed she would revert if felt necessary – as the priority was an update for the immediate surrounding residents and they would gauge the response before widening.

4.5 AC asked when the Square works would be finished and PB reported that the plan was to finish in Autumn 2021, but with an aim to expedite delivery as quickly as possible, so that if there was any possibility of finishing earlier, they would do.

4.6 LS asked about the impact on the overall timeline and whether the finish date had been impacted. JP responded to update on working patterns: despite using extended hours where possible, and staggered starts, most of the work still takes place between 8am and 6pm. He confirmed that the finish date would have slipped because of lockdown but he was in discussion with the client about resequencing and a new target end date.

4.7 AW added that the current timeline was working towards first completions of Block A from August 2021, Block B from October 2021, and completion of the Town Hall shortly afterwards, estimated Spring 2022.

4.8 MA asked about the first cleaned-up section of brickwork and whether JP and KG were happy with the appearance and condition of the brickwork. He also asked what work could be completed on the ground floor restaurant unit to clean it up, even though he understands it is not owned by FEC.

4.9 KG answered that there had been no site visits yet because of COVID-19 but site visits were planned next week to see the work and compare to the methodology and patch tests.

4.10 JP said that all work being completed was in line with English Heritage approvals and had been signed off by them. However, full inspections from the whole team will take place before the scaffolds are removed and that work is underway.

4.11 MA followed up to ask about Pera Kitchen, and while acknowledging it was not owned by FEC, could anything be done about it. NP confirmed that it was not within FEC ownership; they had made enquiries about taking it over, but had received no feedback yet.

4.12 AC asked about any update on the Middeys situation and BP confirmed that FEC are still in discussion with Haringey Council on the matter, but there are no further updates as of yet.

4.13 LCH asked if there had been any consideration about how to host a Christmas Tree on the Green, and also if there had been any thoughts about displaying final CGIs of the Green on the hoardings. AW responded to confirm that they would be not using a CGI as such but will share the sketch drawings (prepared by Make Architects) on the website and on social media. AW also confirmed that because the hoardings would run right up to the bus stop, it would not be possible to find any space for a Christmas Tree this year.

4.14 JP went on to confirm that all the improvements to the Green were as agreed in the planning permission, and that although they had kept it open as long as possible, the time had come for safety purposes, to make sure hoardings were in place to provide protection and ensure the final product could be delivered.

4.15 AC said it was no surprise that a tree was not possible this year, but she asked if there was absolutely no space in the area as there are no more available locations on the Broadway and it is an important annual feature for the community. JP confirmed that the hoardings would run up the bus stop, just 3 metres away from Barclays and Pera Kitchen, to allow them to operate, and therefore there was no space. The second phase would move right up the businesses to replace the paving piece by piece.

4.16 AC asked if the subject of the tree could be kept on the agenda, if everyone could think about other options and find some space for the community to have a tree.

5 Update from Far East Consortium

5.1 AW provided an update and said that most items, including completion dates, have already been covered. The marketing suite had been working well on an appointments-only basis, but they were planning to trial opening on two days per week from next month, subject to the situation around COVID-19.

6 Update from The Time + Space Co.

6.1 AM confirmed that the plan was to open the Arts Centre marketing suite for appointments by the end of the month.

6.2 LS asked if COVID-19 had resulted in any impact on the quality of the final scheme and overall restoration, and whether any cost impacts would be borne in lower quality.

6.3 NP answered that costs had not varied that much; the main change had been around construction management and getting the right people to site at the right time. The impacts had been on availability and timing but not on quality.

6.4 JP agreed that the impacts were on time and schedule but they were making adjustments to try and claw back some of that lost time.

6.5 AW also confirmed that the quality was exactly the same and there we no plans to change anything within the project.

7 Date of next meeting

7.1 BP confirmed that the next meeting would be in November and details of the date and time would follow in due course. At this stage, this is still expected to be a virtual meeting, but everyone will be kept informed of any changes.

8 Any other business

8.1 AW emphasised that the work commencing on the Square was a positive milestone for the development and would appreciate this message being shared with the community, and looks forward to its opening next year.

8.2 MA asked if any slip in the delivery timetable would need to be approved by Haringey Council and NP confirmed the project programme had slipped due to site closure and reduced manpower on site. This had been formally communicated to Haringey Council but the true extent of delays was not determined given the on-going impact of COVID-19.

8.3 LS questioned if a delay results in additional costs and where the savings would be found. NP described this as a commercial discussion between FEC and Ardmore, with no impact on the final product.

8.4 AW added that there was a legal commitment in place to deliver the scheme as promised and that is what they intend to do.