The article below has appeared in the Croydon Guardian this week. Things are understood to have been going well behind the scenes on the latest plans to renovate the Fairfield.
Once again the Croydon Council has put posh plans (College Green redevelopment) ahead of the needs of the Fairfield (the quote from Councillor Bashford).
It is inconceivable that the the Fairfield could exist with its wings clipped – the removal of the Ashcroft Theatre and the Arnhem Gallery would rob Croydon of two unique spaces and render the Fairfield as a single stage, 2,000 seater Venue. Such a plan would simply be a way of closing down the Fairfield in stages.
It is increasingly difficult to actually understand what is going on at the Council. Who is making the decisions? What is the timetable for any decision? what factors are being taken into account?
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Rejected redesign sets Fairfield Halls project back another six months
The grand redevelopment of Croydon’s crumbling Fairfield Halls has been set back another six months after new designs dreamed up by architects proved too expensive.
Spectacular plans for a rejuvenated venue were finished by Keith Williams Architects in the spring, but Croydon Council sent the company back to the drawing board as they would have blown the project’s budget.
Councillor Sara Bashford, Croydon Council’s cabinet member for culture, said it was possible the Ashcroft Theatre and Arnhem Gallery could be scrapped to allow the rest of the scheme to go forward.
She said: “The designs that they came up with were so far beyond what we could really afford it wasn’t possible.
“The pictures I saw were absolutely fantastic – it’s so impressive.
“But we’re all looking at ways to save money, and at the moment what was being put forward was beyond the capacity we’ve got.”
The council has budgeted for £1m-a-year to be spent on capital works at Fairfield Halls, and recently handed over another £550,000 for essential health and safety work and to jazz up the venue’s foyer.
Coun Bashford said the new designs would not be ready until at least March, putting the whole scheme a year behind schedule based on estimates given by the council and architects in January.
Coun Bashford said: “There’s no point us going at it half-hearted.
“We could renovate the Ashcroft Theatre and nothing else, but that’s not going to make it a new exciting venue.
“We could put money in and just do bits and bobs, but it’s not going to help anyone.
“We want that whole area to be an area you want to go to.
“I have this vision of that area being somewhere with nice restaurants, cafes and for it to be an area I go in the evening with my friends – and I want Fairfield Halls to be part of that.”
The revised plans are expected to see the entire venue turned 90 degrees, with its entrance facing a redeveloped College Green, as well as a vastly improved backstage area.
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