Finance chief insists Croydon’s Fairfield Halls is not for sale
By Harrison Galliven, Local Democracy Reporter
Croydon’s famous Fairfield Halls is not for sale and any suggestion it is going to be put on the market is ‘rubbish’, a council cabinet member has said.
Claims that the iconic venue could be sold off have prompted Jason Cummings, Croydon’s cabinet member for finance, to strongly refute them and make clear there are no such plans.
Councillor Ria Patel had claimed on an Inside Croydon podcast that Croydon council was being urged to sell the site during a meeting of the Improvement and Assurance Panel.
But before the council’s cabinet meeting last night, Cllr Cummings said: “There are no plans to sell Fairfield Halls, we are not considering [selling] Fairfield Halls.”
The Green Party’s Cllr Patel had claimed that during meetings with the government-appointed Improvement and Assurance Panel, the sale of Fairfield Halls was discussed as a potential asset disposal. This panel provides independent oversight over the local authority to help with its dire financial situation and has the authority to direct actions if needed.
However, Cllr Cummings refutes these claims, calling them ‘rubbish’. He explained: “They have held a briefing that Cllr Ria Patel was at. After that briefing, Cllr Patel has gone to Inside Croydon, done a podcast with them and in that podcast she stated that the panel instructed us to sell Fairfield Halls.”
He added: “That is completely untrue – they have never told us to sell Fairfield Halls.
“We have gone back to the panel and said ‘this has been said, can you clarify’ – they said ‘no’, they never said that in the meeting and it is completely wrong. That whole story is based on one councillor lying about what has been said.
“They (the panel) have the power to instruct us, but they have never used it. If they wanted to tell us that we had to sell the Fairfield Halls, they could, and we would have to do it, but they haven’t.”
However Cllr Patel, representing the Fairfield Ward, stuck to her guns, saying: “In a meeting with the Improvement and Assurance Panel, they made it clear that they are encouraging the council to sell our assets, and Fairfield Halls was specifically mentioned as one of those assets that could be sold.
“We have to come up with a long-term sustainable plan for the Fairfield Halls, we are very clear that that doesn’t involve selling it.”
Fairfield Halls is famous as a historic live music venue where a host of stars including David Bowie, Stevie Wonder and Pink Floyd performed.
Fairfield’s future remains in doubt, though and could yet fall out of public hands, Cllr Cummings has conceded.
“I am not going to stand here and say that something will never ever happen,” he said. “If an organisation came forward tomorrow, like Excel, and said they would like to make Fairfield Halls the top venue, conference and culture centre of South London, would we talk to them? Of course we would, but we are not selling Fairfield Halls for the financial benefit of the council.”
The venue is currently run by the events company BH Live, which is in contact with the council. Their management means the venue does not cost the council money on a day-by-day basis.
Pictured top: Fairfield Halls, which was originally closed for a refurbishment back in 2016 (Picture: LDRS)