A couple of years ago the then Lib Dem led Council agreed a plan for various services in our local area. Camden agreed Emmanuel School needed expanding and should build on part of its long designated expansion site (160 Mill Lane -the "Open Space") Sington Nursery which was in long term temporary portacabins on the site would move up to a newly rebuilt Fortune Green Play Centre and, as a temporary measure, would move into the Community Hall in Broomsleigh Street. (This was purchased from the Church by the Council and refurbished partly as the temporary home for Sington Nursery and partly for the newly re-established West Hampstead Community association who would eventually take over the whole building.) This was a complicated set of proposals nicknamed by us "the jigsaw".
Things went slowly, the rebuilding of the school attracted some initial opposition, but eventually received planning permission. The nursery moved into the Community Hall with the Community Association upstairs. So far, so good - but a change of Council and a change of Government and a mounting financial crisis intervened.
Although the proposals for Fortune Green Play Centre to become a joint facility with Sington Nursery were approved in the autumn, and we had all been assured the money was in place, it now seems clear the Council are unlikely to proceed with the plans. The future of the Play Service seems under threat, the capital money seems to be no longer available and the scheme, if not completely abandoned is very definitely on a far back burner. Sington Nursery which does have some Government money available until March, doesn't look if it can spend it and, although asking if it could move up to Fortune Green anyway, has been told "No" - forcing it to remain in very unsuitable temporary premises and leaving the Community Association in only half their premises! A disaster all round. Time, we think for someone to use some imagination and work out a compromise solution and for a community based campaign to make sure that our local services don't lose out irretrievably.
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