London councils book into town hall-to-hotel plan
Three London town halls could be converted into hotels, as councils aim to rationalise their property in the wake of an average 4.4% cut to local authority budgets.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council is about to appoint Lambert Smith Hampton to sell the 19th-century Fulham Town Hall (pictured), pending a final cabinet decision to be taken in February.
If given the go-ahead, the hall would be marketed alongside eight other properties in a bid to raise £20m.
Lambert Smith Hampton is already working on options for the town hall, which include selling it for conversion into a hotel, as well as restaurant or specialist retail uses.
BNP Paribas Real Estate has been appointed to assess alternative uses for the council’s other sites, among them the Sands End Community Centre, the Askham Family Centre and Distillery Lane Children’s Centre.
It is thought that Fulham Town Hall, which is opposite Fulham Broadway Tube station and Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge stadium, is most likely to be converted into a 20-bedroom hotel that could be a wedding venue.
Westminster City Council is also marketing the 100,000 sq ft Marylebone Town Hall on Marylebone Road for conversion into a hotel or a centre for education. It aims to raise up to £30m. A shortlist of prospective occupiers is likely to be announced by Westminster council at the end of January.
Finally, Bromley Council is seeking offers for Bromley Town Hall for a hotel and conference centre or for offices.
Hoteliers are said to have been attracted by the three town halls’ cellular design, grand reception areas and large chambers, which would be ideal for conversion to hotels.
However, the listed properties may only be converted and not fully redeveloped.
The councils want to sell the traditional buildings because they are expensive to run and occupy, and will hamper requirements to operate a zero-carbon policy by 2019.
Last year hotelier Loh Lik Peng converted Bethnal Green Town Hall in the east of the capital into the Town Hall Hotel, which opened in April.
King Sturge is marketing Marylebone Town Hall.
All parties declined to comment.
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I think that many of these town halls no longer serve the needs of a modern organisation and contribute to some of the shocking inefficiencies we are now hearing about. A good opportunity for councils to occupy more efficient accomodation ideally which is situated in a location which is in need of some investment to help regenerate the area.
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