The council has been using a ‘hub’ to carry out these duties since its former civic centre was demolished to make way for a huge housing development.
It has submitted a planning application to temporarily change the use of the Brethrens Meeting Hall at The Ridgeway from a place of worship into a council chamber and register office for up to five years.
The Department for Education (DfE) last year approved a plan to convert The Ridgeway site, which is owned by the local authority, into a 292-place special educational needs (SEN) school, but the council is still waiting for funding.
In the meantime, the council is looking to use the hall for civic functions, including public meetings, council events, a register office, and citizenship ceremonies to “save money from hire costs”. The facility is no longer required by the church as the congregation has moved elsewhere and there is “no interest” from other churches to use it, according to the council.
The proposal, which has been recommended for approval by council officers, is due to come before the planning committee this evening (July 23). The site, which is located in North Harrow, is already set up in a way that it can be used for this function so will not have any associated costs, as well as having 250 existing car parking spaces.
The Ridgeway will be the site for the borough’s first new SEN school in more than 20 years after the council’s bid for a new facility was approved by the DfE in May 2024. The school will provide places for 292 pupils aged 4 to 19 with severe learning difficulties and autism in order to meet the borough’s growing demand. However, the council wants to make use of the site whilst it awaits funding approval from the government department.
A spokesperson for Harrow Council said: “We are temporarily bringing the building back into use while we secure funding from DfE for a new SEN school. Once we hear back on our application we will go through the planning process for the new school. This temporary use for council and community meetings will also help save money from hire costs.”
Earlier this year, plans were put forward to build 532 ‘build to rent’ homes on the site of the council’s former headquarters in Station Road. It is the first of three phases of a flagship development, named Poets Corner, which will ultimately see more than 1,000 new homes built. The project has been in the offing since early 2022 after the council made the decision to relocate its head offices.
