CAMPAIGNERS rallying to save a well-loved community hall have demanded to know when they will be consulted on redevelopment plans.

At a Redbridge Council meeting in March, councillors agreed to a £250,000 saving by moving library services from Snakes Lane East in Woodford Green to the Sir James Hawkey Hall in Broomhill Road.

The decision was met by great anxiety among residents, who presented a petition with 1,926 signatures to councillors imploring them to save the 60-year-old community facility from potential redevelopment.

At last night’s (July 21) full council meeting at Redbridge Town Hall, council leader Jas Athwal assured Save Hawkey Hall campaigners that they will be consulted about any plans to redevelop the site.

He said: “There is no plan to do any redevelopment on the Hawkey Hall site, but when one is put together residents will certainly be consulted.

“Until then I would ask councillors and residents to remember that in the current climate, these are the kinds of difficult decisions we are faced with.

“If the plans for the Hawkey Hall site are not socially or economically viable they will not go through.

“But we cannot sit back and live in the past – we must accept the financial responsibility we have to this borough.”

But despite Cllr Athwal’s promises, lead SHH campaigner Mary Harrod wants further clarity on when residents and hall users will be consulted.

Ms Harrod, of Abbotsford Gardens, Woodford Green, said: “They keep telling us they’re going to consult us, but there’s still no evidence of it.

“We know there are no bookings being taken for the hall beyond 2017, so these changes aren’t very far away.

“We are very concerned we haven’t had any timescale on when this will happen, so we’d like to see something in the next few months.”

Ms Harrod added that she was pleased the council revealed it is planning to apply for London Borough for Arts and Culture funding when the scheme is introduced.

But on behalf of organisations like the Bengali Cultural Association, who regularly uses the hall and spoke at last night’s meeting, campaigners need further guarantees a facility of current size will be maintained.

She said: “It’s great they want to apply for the culture funding, but what if they don’t get it?

“Given the local development plan has just been passed, we need to know what these plans are and when we will be consulted on them by the end of the year.”

A Redbridge Council spokesman said: "As we have stated previously, any proposed redevelopment plans of Hawkey Hall and Woodford Library would come before residents for a full and thorough consultation to ensure we achieve the best outcomes for the borough. 

"Once we have plans that we are in a position to consult on then this will take place but as we are not at that stage yet we are unable to give any timescales for consultation.

"The booking window for Hawkey Hall in no way reflects any timescales for potential redevelopment. Vision RCL only takes bookings for Hawkey Hall up to 18 months in advance."