Work to regenerate Walworth Town Hall into a “flexible workspace” and “community hub” has begun this week, Southwark Council has announced.
The old town hall on Walworth Road will contain studios and workspaces, “ideal for start-ups” alongside a new community space on the ground floor.
The Grade II listed building, which was built in 1865, has been closed off to the public since it was partially destroyed by a fire in March 2013.
Work is expected to be finished at the end of 2023.
“This much-loved heritage building is the jewel in Walworth’s crown,” said Cllr Helen Dennis, cabinet member for the climate emergency and sustainable development.
“Bringing it back into use, with both work and community space included, will give [the building] new purpose and a new lease of life which means it can continue to be enjoyed by many more generations to come,” she added.
The restoration project is being delivered by developer General Projects in partnership with the council.
On their website, General Projects wrote they were approached by the council to “reinvent the property for the 21st century, as a dynamic cultural community and workspace hub”.
The Gross Development Value of the regeneration is £25 million. This figure refers to what the property will be worth on the open market once the redevelopment is finished.
General Projects will operate the town hall once it is regenerated, meanwhile the council says “a third party” will be chosen by a “new independent management board” to operate the community space.
This board, which will help shape and oversee the space, will be chaired by local resident Manisha Patel and comprise other members of the Walworth community.
The public will be able to use the facility all year round for a variety of uses, such as meetings, events, talks, performances, arts and crafts, workshops and classes.
A new third floor and mezzanine level will be created inside the building, there will be a new ground floor entrance onto Walworth Square, and cycle storage and outdoor amenity spaces will be placed outside.
The memorial garden, which runs along the Walworth Road frontage, will also be relandscaped.
Restoration efforts will first involve demolition work, the installation of structural frames, restoring the facade, roofing and an internal fitting out, after the external work to the building will occur.
Once the old town hall is restored and refurbished it will be taken off the Heritage at Risk register, where it has been for nearly a decade.
The regeneration of Walworth Town Hall follows several other large-scale developments on the Walworth Road, such as the Southwark Heritage Centre and Walworth Library.
It once served as the headquarters of the Metropolitian Borough of Southwark and was renamed Southwark Town Hall, yet ceased to be the seat of local government when the enlarged Borough of Southwark was formed in 1965.