- Start Page - History - Current Status - Floorplan and interior photos - Additional photos -
St Mary's Lodge
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In February 2002 the property was scheduled to go up for auction, with a reserve price of £750,000. The prospectus for the sale (HERE) stated that "as the building is of local significance Hackney Council Planning would seek to
retain and enhance the existing structure. ... applications for a residential development
comprising the conversion of the existing building to flats
and the construction of four 1 bedroom flats and two 2
bedroom flats in a new structure together with one 3
bedroom and one 4 bedroom house would be
acceptable subject to consents." Somewhat mysteriously, the property was withdrawn from the auction the day before it was due to go on the block, and sold to the trustees of the Torah Etz Chaim Synagogue (located next to St Mary's Lodge) for £705,000 - £45k below the published auction reserve price and some £400,000 below the market value of the property's 0.14 hectares of inner-London land alone. Additionally, Hackney Planning's original guidelines for the site's development were not kept as a condition of sale. Instead, the Land Registry documentation of the transaction (HERE) shows the Borough to have changed its position, such that the property may now only be used for "community/educational uses". It must be emphasized that this doesn't mean that Hackney's Planning Office has determined that the property has to be used for community/education purposes. The restrictions on the property's use were made by Hackney Property Services, who are responsible only for the buying and selling of Council properties. They don't actually make planning-and-use decisions per se. Hackney Property Services' position was that Torah Etz Chaim's stated intention - to use the property as an addition to their existing religious education facility - was of sufficient General Benefit to the Community to make a below-market-value sale price a reasonable concession. The community/educational restriction was formally attached to the sale just to ensure that the buyers would go through with the plans that earned them the below-market price. If Torah Etz Chaim were subsequently to come to the conclusion that their community/educational plans won't work (if, for example, Hackney Planning were to refuse their application for change-of-use), and that they instead want to develop the property for residential use, Hackney Property Services would almost certainly lift the restriction - but only after being paid the difference between the £705,000 and the property's residential market value. Perhaps more significant than the issue of the property's use, however, is the fact that there is no mention in the terms of sale of any requirement to restore - or keep - the property's existing structures. Torah Etz Chaim members say they consider the building unsalvageable, and that the plan is indeed to demolish the structure. Hackney Planning has not approved any such plan. Not yet, in any case. As far as the terms of the sale are concerned, however, the owners can legally tear down St Mary's Lodge and turn the land into a car park, as long as the car park is for the use of the educational facility next door. It's also curious that Hackney Property Services did not require evidence that Torah Etz Chaim had adequate funds available to develop the property within a reasonable timeframe following its sale. Such proof-of-adequate-resources stipulations are practically universal in situations such as this one, where a public asset is sold at a knock-down price. Already, Torah Etz Chaim doesn't maintain its existing property (next door to St Mary's Lodge) to anything approaching an acceptable standard (click on photos below to enlarge). Broken windows; crumbling, barbed-wired walls leaning onto the public footpath; cracked and potholed tarmac; large, ever-present pools of stagnant street runoff; litter and rubbish strewn throughout. One would expect that if nothing else, such disregard for hygiene, safety, and the neighbourhood's visual amenity would disqualify the organisation from being trusted as guardians of a cherished local landmark like St Mary's.
Considering the amount of ire and ill-will Torah Etz Chaim's conduct has evoked over the past three years, local residents' response to any eventual planning permission applications should be interesting, to say the least. Nov 18 2003 Update: A company called "Addison Groundworks and Demolition" is currently erecting a hoarding around the property. Rumours originating from Torah Etz Chaim members suggest that the building of new flats is planned, though Maeve Melvin at Hackney Planning says her department has not received any planning application or request for change-of-use. Hackney Property Services and Hackney Planning disagree on the interpretation of Hackney's "Locally Listed Buildings" policy. While Hackney Planning says it doesn't have the power to prevent demolition of the building, Peter Scott of Property Services has said that UDP policy EQ20 states that "planning permission will be required for the proposed demolition of [any locally listed] building". Nov 24 2003 Update: According to Hackney Mayor Jules Pipe, St Mary's Lodge is covered by the local-listing "must seek planning permission for demolition" rule, and Mayor Pipe has personally informed Torah Etz Chaim of this fact. Torah Etz Chaim have assured the Mayor that Addison Groundworks and Demolition were only ever hired to erect the new hoarding, and that permission from Hackney Planning will duly be sought before any redevelopment of the property is undertaken. See November 27 Hackney Gazette article HERE and Hackney Today's version HERE. (Either article may take half a minute or so to download with slower internet connections.) May 18 2004 Update: Perhaps in connection with Hackney's recent announcement that Lordship Park has been designated a Conservation Area, (see the Designation Report and Appraisal on Hackney's website HERE) the following notice from Hackney's Environment Directorate was posted today on the hoarding around St Mary's Lodge: Hackney Environment Directorate Jon Judah, Director of Environment May 18 2004 To: Torah Etz Chaim re: St Mary's Lodge It has come to my attention that you may be considering the demolition of the above building. It is my understanding this work may be imminent given that you have erected hoardings around the site in preparation of such works. I have written to you before on this very matter on November 21 2003 and you are aware of the issues and the implications. You should be aware that the building is located within a designated conservation area - Lordship Park - and as such requires Conservation Area Consent for any demolition works. The building is also a residential building and requires approval before any demolition works is [sic] carried out - in the form of a Prior Approval Application - in order for the local planning authority to consider whether demolition is appropriate. I would further add that any approval for demolition is unlikely to be approved and should you proceed with demolition the Council is likely to initiate legal proceedings. You should accept this letter therefore as Formal Notice that if the Council considers that you may seek to demolition [sic] the building the Council will take appropriate legal action to prevent any such demolition. IT IS NOT IN YOUR INTEREST TO IGNORE THIS LETTER. (letter ends) January 31 2005 Update: No sign or any refurbishment/redevelopment yet. However, in response to reported Hackney Council pressure to prevent the building from further succumbing to the elements, the owners of St Mary's Lodge have had workmen in to shutter windows, clear out soggy mattresses and other rubbish, patch a gaping hole in the roof and repair the site perimeter hoarding. Surveyors have also been on-site taking measurements of the property. August 11 2005 Update: St Mary's Lodge completely gutted by fire of unknown origin. Witnesses report seeing persons known to have been squatting the property leaving in haste shortly before smoke was seen coming from the building.
August 2006 Update: A year since the fire, and St Mary's Lodge remains a dilapidated shell. Scaffolding was erected around the structure in autumn 2005, but no activity has been seen on the site since then. Torah Etz Chaim is apparently under legal pressure from Hackney Planning for another ongoing matter; namely, for ignoring a 1995 agreement with Hackney that the erection of the extensive portakabin structure at 69-71 Lordship Road (next to St Mary's Lodge) would only be allowed as a temporary structure, and was to be removed by March 2000. (See Hackney Planning Committee Officers' Report HERE). Why Hackney has allowed Torah Etz Chaim to disregard Council decisions regarding both the portakabin and St Mary's Lodge for so long is unclear. January 2008 Update: Torah Etz Chaim has erected an industrial-style, razor-tipped security fence along the frontage of their 69-71 Lordship Road property. This type of fencing is completely out of character with the local residential neighbourhood and is normally only allowed in areas zoned for commercial/industrial use. Hackney Council confirms that TEC have neither sought nor been granted permission to erect this fencing, but that "with the current backlog of planning enforcement cases, it's not likely that Hackney will pursue the matter".
St Mary's Lodge in the media: September 22, 2004 London Evening Standard article here: An ad hoc "St Mary's Lodge Preservation Committee" is currently working to make people aware of the building's history and value - and of the need to let the Borough's decision-makers know how important the property is to the community. Interested people are encouraged to communicate their concern for the future of St Mary's Lodge to their local councillor, their MP, and especially to: Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney Naturally, since the sale price of St Mary's Lodge was greatly reduced (at Council Tax payers' expense) in light of Torah Etz Chaim's promise to create a community educational facility, it's a pretty safe bet that the Mayor, Hackney's Lordship Ward councillors, Stoke Newington MP Diane Abbott, and the building's new owners themselves are looking forward to hearing from each of us... to get our ideas on ways the new community facility can be utilised to serve as great a proportion of our multicultural borough as possible. Torah Etz Chaim - Start
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Status - Floorplan
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