There are proposals to close the Library at Clock House and redevelop the land for housing. Associated with this proposal are plans to develop a scheme for Beckenham Public Halls on Bromley Road so that most of it can be converted to Library use.
It seems that the proposals for Beckenham Public Halls would mean that only the large hall would remain available for public hire. It appears the library would occupy the ground floor room and the smaller room on the first floor which currently has the bar. It seems likely that the hire fees for the large hall would be too high for many current users of the smaller rooms. The first stage in this proposal is an appointment of a multi-disciplinary team to develop a scheme at a preliminary cost of £70,000, rising to £300,000 for the full scheme. The total cost of renovation and fitting out Beckenham Halls for a library is estimated, at this time, as £2m.
The relocation of the library from Clock House has been rumoured for some time. Cllr Tickner floated the idea at our recent open meeting on 16 October, but got no support. The Clock House area around Clock House Parade, The Spa, Venue 28 and of course the Library, has seen a recent turn round in fortunes. When “The Studio” was mothballed and then subject to several years of renovation surrounded by horrible green hoardings, the area looked unloved and the shops on Clock House Parade were mainly vacant. Now the shops are mostly occupied again and there are social and community activities in the area between the Library, The Spa and Venue 28. The Library plays a big role in keeping this sense of community. It is well used, not least by students at Kings School opposite.
Clock House is also well served by public transport, in many ways better than the allegedly more central Beckenham Halls. It is served by buses from all over Beckenham – 358 and 194 from Eden Park, 227 from Bromley Road area, 354 from Foxgrove. The 54 and 352 go close by at the War Memorial, as do trams at Beckenham Road. The trains at Clock House also make it accessible from the Cator Park and Eden Park/ West Wickham areas. Beckenham Halls is less directly accessible from Eden Park and Cator.
The proposed housing development on the site of the library is for a five storey block of flats. The council hope to make £2m on the land if 50% of the homes are “affordable”. The current drawings do not show a “traditional build, in an architectural style to complement the surround conservation area”, as stated in the report.
WBRA has a suggestion. It is reported that the current library building is need of extensive repair. Why not build the housing on this site, but have a purpose built library on the ground floor? This would make more sense than trying to retrofit a library into Beckenham halls, a building that is not designed for modern library use. The housing development could pay a large part of the costs of the new library.