2014 08 final pg response to oa

Carnegie Library Community Hub Project

Response by the Carnegie Library Project Group to the Options Appraisal by Butler Hegarty Architects

The Carnegie Library Project Group August 2014

1

1. Introduction 1.1 The Carnegie Library Project Group commenced its work in August 2012, with the benefit of earlier research by The Friends of Carnegie Library on community aspirations for the library and the building. At that earlier time, the future of the library had been in doubt and it was also evident that there was potentially a considerable amount of space, then occupied by other borough-wide library functions, that might become available in the building. Following extensive public consultation The Friends identified a range of uses and activities that commanded support. The Project Group has been briefed on that work and, in light of Lambeth Council’s new policy for the future of the library service and its ambition to create Community Hubs, it set out an updated Vision for the Carnegie Library building in an Options Appraisal Brief, which is available on the Project Group’s website.

1.2 The Project Group also commissioned a Conservation Statement from a specialist Heritage Conservation consultant, Kathryn Sather & Associates, which has now been completed. This establishes the heritage significance of the spaces and elements of the building and will inform all future proposals. Following a tendering procedure in accordance with Lambeth Council requirements the London-based consultancy Butler Hegarty Architects was commissioned to undertake the Options Appraisal. The Architects have taken the Brief, and subsequent discussions with the Project Group, as the starting point and looked at a wide combination of possible uses so as to better inform the choices the Project Group and the community will be able to make about the future of the Carnegie Library building.

1.3 The Architects are charged with producing an Options Appraisal Report that reflects their Brief. The first stage of their work was to prepare a Draft Options Appraisal, which they presented to the Project Group on 28 February 2014. Following further discussion and consideration with the Project Group the architects revised their draft and have now produced the Options Appraisal Report. This response is now a commentary on that report setting out the issues it has identified and the Project Group’s views on the various potential ways ahead. Both documents will also be published on the Project Group’s website.

1.4 The Project Group now proposes during the next two months to undertake a public consultation exercise with the community on the issues reflected in the Options Appraisal Report. Following the consultation, the Project Group will consider all views expressed, and agree a Final Preferred Option. The Architects will then work up the preferred option to be the basis for all further technical and funding work.

1 Revised Assumptions 2.1 The Project Group received and discussed the Draft Options Appraisal in February 2014 and considered it against the Brief for the work. Given the time and resources available, the Architects were not expected to produce a detailed architectural proposal supported by a worked up Business Plan. Rather, they had been asked to consider options that are feasible and appropriate to the building, and to produce reasonable estimates of income and cost for the various options in order to illustrate the broad financial implications of each and so 2

enable comparisons to be made. It was recognised that further work would be needed after the Options Appraisal stage to produce accurate estimates of the rental income that floor space might generate; and of the costs of maintaining the building and delivering services to floor space users and tenants (heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance, building management, maintenance etc.).

2.2 Following discussion and consideration of the Draft Options Appraisal, and in order to guide the further work on preparing the Options Report now under consideration the Project Group refined and revised some of the earlier assumptions used by the Architects.

The refined assumptions were then as follows: 1. The new Trust to be created to take ownership of the project and the building is not lawfully able to offer preferential rents to particular users, however desirable, and its Business Plan must show that it is using its resources (primarily the building at this stage) in a way that reflects market rates.

2. All primary users of space in the building (business users and Lambeth Libraries) must pay market rent for the floor space they occupy. Based on existing knowledge and for illustrative purposes only, a standard rent is assumed of £11 per square foot for all such users. The Trust may be able to vary rent levels depending on the nature of the tenant business but as a general rule will be guided by the market.

However, in affording space (usually sessional) to community groups or charitable organisations the Trust will have power to offer space at low or nil cost as part of delivering its charitable Objects.

3. Again for illustrative purposes, a standard service charge rate of £10 per square foot is assumed for outgoings, payable by all occupiers including the Trust, for floor space occupied (whether outgoings are met by tenants direct, or by way of a service charge). Using those rates, for example the Lecture Room (1,163 sq. ft.) could be rented for £12,793 per annum, with additional tenant’s outgoings estimated at £11,630 p.a. to give a total cost of £24,423 p.a.

4. Café. A business plan has to be provided for the café/bar and so its viability is as yet unpredictable. The Trust will have to consider the best delivery vehicle for this service, including a trading arm of the charity, a franchise or a Social Enterprise.

Assuming viability it will also be expected to pay the standard rental and outgoings.

However as the café may take time to become established and not generate a surplus in the short-term, it is prudent to assume that the business may not be able to immediately meet the full rental. In this case the Trust will address that issue as required. For present purposes it is prudent to adopt a cautious position and not assume that full rent will be received immediately.

5. Existing Library floor space usage. The Report should include for illustration the financial implications (based on assumptions 2 and 3 above) arising from the Library continuing to occupy the space it uses at present; this will form a base line from which thinking proceeds. Lambeth Council will in due course confirm the extent to which it is able to commit resources to supporting the library function, as a tenant of the Trust.

3

3 Floor Usage 3.1 The Project Group agreed that the preferred Option should allocate space for: • • •

•

Use by the Trust for community purposes Use by Lambeth Library Service Use by business tenants of the Trust (these users can be of any appropriate type in keeping with the primary purpose of the Trust, including offices, workshops, cinema clubs, dance studios etc.)

Use by the café. The café will occupy space designated for the Trust, but will operate independently, and so, for present purposes, be identified separately in the draft plans and report.

3.2 The Project Group recognised that the proportion of space allocated to each of the above uses will reflect the opportunities and limitations offered by the various room spaces in the building, and the need to balance a realistic income stream against preferences for their use. As described above, the Architects have made some preliminary estimates of the likely running costs of the building, but more work on this will be required because the building will have longer opening hours and greater public usage than at present, which will affect all budget overheads (heating, lighting, cleaning, maintenance, insurance, telecoms, etc.). Meanwhile as described above, a reasonable estimate is made for these costs in all options.

3.3 As it is a principal aim of the Project to ensure the continued provision of the current library service to local people, the Project Group gave serious consideration to how best to achieve this. As stated in the Revised Assumptions above, a new Trust will have to operate in accordance with Charity Law and its Trustees will be charged with securing the best use of assets. Accordingly, they will have no power to offer free space to Lambeth Council. A value will have to be ascribed to whatever floor space the library will occupy and an income assumed on the same basis as for other tenants. The Architects have estimated the rental income that might be received under each option. No estimates are possible for income to the Trust from community activities that may take place in the part of the building it will directly manage, or from a café, which is unlikely to generate surplus revenue in the early stages.

3.4 Further work on an Activities Plan of proposed community uses, and on the business plan for a café is needed. Accordingly, the figures shown should be treated as indicative only of the scale of difference between the various options, which is sufficient to assist discussion of choices at this stage. When preferred options emerge, and an Activities Plan is prepared for the parts of the building to be managed by the Trust for community activities, it will be possible to develop more reliable estimates. We consider that a figure of not less than £100,000 a year is the minimum needed to operate the building in its new role, and already it seems that the Trust will need an income nearer £150,000 per annum to staff, operate and maintain the Carnegie for the uses envisaged. These estimates will harden as we proceed.

4

4 Existing Residential Uses 4.1 The upper floors of the South Wing (Haredale Road side) are in permanent residential occupation. Originally the Librarian’s flat, this space was divided into four Council flats, three of which were subsequently sold under the Right-to-Buy legislation. The fourth is a secure tenancy. While responsibility for the external structure of these flats will transfer to the Trust along with the rest of the building in order to ensure external maintenance integrity, the status of the flats will not otherwise be affected.

5 Commercial Rentable Spaces 5.1 If the Project is to succeed the Trust must have significant reliable income. As yet we have no Activities Plan setting out the range of possible cultural and community activities to take place in the building. (Funders will require this Plan to cover the first five years following completion of the building works). It is therefore currently not possible to estimate how much ad hoc income the Trust might expect to raise from these sources. It is, however, safe to assume it will not be sufficient to meet the cost of operating the building and the Trust. Other, regular, income will be needed.

5.2 Accordingly, the Architects looked at the possibility of allocating different parts of the building for business rental purposes in order to generate income to the Trust. This is possible and advice is that space would be attractive to potential tenants wishing to rent office space in Herne Hill. Mindful of the potential income this would generate the Project Group has stated that it has a strong preference for lettings to tenants who reflect, or are in harmony with, the community ethos of the building, and so wants to attract local entrepreneurs who are starting or running small businesses.

5.3 The possibilities for renting out parts of the building include renting out the basement area and the rooms on the Ground and First Floors on the North Wing (Ferndene Road side). The Project Group adds an important proviso. It aims to have all the building come into community use at some point in the future if and when the financial situation can sustain it. In the meantime, it is sensible to avoid any building interventions to facilitate business lettings that would be irreversible or expensive to remove.

6 The Basement 6.1 There is currently some usable space in the basement at the North Wing, where there are several rooms in use along Ferndene Road. However, due to the slope in the land the rest of the basement, towards the southern end of the building, has insufficient headroom or natural light to be suitable for uses other than ad hoc storage.

6.2 The Architects advise that much of this space on the rear (garden) side, but not towards the front of the building, can be excavated to create adequate headroom, and interventions can be made in the wall facing the garden to provide natural light. Much of this space can, therefore, be brought into economic use. Should the basement not be excavated the reduction in potential rental income will have a serious negative impact on the Project’s 5

Business Plan. Should permission not be secured to create windows and a door into the garden, or if it is decided not to seek to do this, the excavated basement may still be suitable for uses that do not require natural light. This needs to be looked at and the impact on forecast rental streams examined.

7 Potential Development Land 7.1 The hereditament of the building includes three Lambeth-owned garages that exit onto Haredale Road, currently let on a short-term basis. For the sake of completeness of the estate the Project Group recommends that these be transferred to the new Trust with the main building. The land occupied by the garages is a potentially valuable development site and while securing planning and conservation consents for a development within the curtilage of a Grade II listed building, and adjoining elegant residential properties, would be challenging, the economics of the entire project require consideration of this possibility.

Residential development on the land could yield a significant revenue stream to the Trust.

The Options 8 Option 1: Library as existing with CafĂŠ in Basement and Workspace in North Wing 8.1 A strong preference is held by some of the Friends of Carnegie Library and some library staff, to retain the library service provision within the building as it is configured at present, and not to alter the disposition of floor uses. They feel that as the building was donated to the people of Lambeth for use as a library this should remain its principal focus and all other activities should be placed around it and defer to it. It is felt that should the library service not occupy the central room, the major focus of existing arrangements, the building would no longer assert that it is primarily a library, the purpose for which it was gifted to the borough. The library floor space uses should, therefore, remain where they are.

8.2 However, times have changed and the nature of library usage has altered. Lambeth Council now has the benefit of the recommendations of a Library Commission into its service and a new Library Service Strategy that reflects these changes. This is the basis of its policy to create a Community Hub in the Carnegie Library building that will enable a library to be retained and the rest of the space to be used for community purposes. Clearly, Lambeth Council does not want to close its libraries but at a time of unprecedented cuts in local authority budgets there is no certainty that this can be guaranteed indefinitely.

Accordingly, allowance must be made for a possible future contraction in the library service budget, potentially up to 40%, and there will need to be negotiation with the Council on the floor space it will require and the service it can provide.

8.3 The starting point has been that the Project Group wants to see a good library service operating full hours and it working with the Trust on the flexible use of Trust-dedicated space in the building to support activities associated with the library. It should be borne in 6

mind that the Project Group has embarked on this venture in order to best protect the library service but changes in arrangements are likely to be unavoidable. But there is no reason to believe that the proposed Trust will be less sympathetic than the Library Service to uses currently associated with the present library in space in the building not leased by the Council. The creation of the Trust should not be construed as a threat.

8.4 These are important issues and merit a conversation on the implications both for the viability of the project and the library service budget. An initial examination of council budget trends suggest that an agreement could be reached that delivers a library service from the building within the resources available to the Council.

8.5 At this stage a transfer of the building to a new Trust would involve the Council, as a tenant, assuming a lease from the Trust for this amount of floor space. This position has a number of implications.

1. Lambeth Council would be entitled to control the central room in the building and therefore have the right to control access to other rooms accessed from it that would be managed by the Trust. If Lambeth required its library stock and operational facilities to be secure when library staff were not in attendance then there might be no access to some Trust rooms.

2. If the central room were to be usable for other purposes, with the Council’s permission on each occasion, then it would be on the basis that library material would still be present (even if rolled aside on movable shelving).

3. The Trust would be responsible for the security of library stock, materials and equipment while operating the space for non-library events.

4. The central room could not readily be fitted out for potential commercial hire or community use.

5. Potential funders of the new Carnegie project are unlikely to be willing to fund the provision of what is an existing library function, in the circumstance that the current provider, the Borough of Lambeth, is no longer willing to fund it. Potential funders would conclude that responsibility for provision of what is a public service was being transferred to the charitable funding sector, and they would not deem that to be an appropriate use of charitable resources.

8.6 A key objective of this entire project is to retain the library and have it provide not less than its current, and, hopefully, a better and expanded service. Having reflected on the above points, the Project Group concluded that it is possible to consolidate the library in the large frontage rooms either side of the main entrance. Detailed work is needed to assess the operational impact of this proposal. This would give Lambeth security for its stock and equipment when library staff were not in attendance, and the central room might, at the discretion of the Trust, be made available during the day if not in other use. The Project Group does not envisage any issues in agreeing arrangements for the use of the central space by library users when it is not in use for other purposes.

8.7 The Gallery space, which is currently used and managed by the Library Service, should be the responsibility of the Trust, although by arrangement it could be made available to the library service for the sorts of activities it undertakes as at present. This arrangement would further reduce the floor space to be rented by Lambeth. The Gallery is not a core library function and transferring responsibility to the new Trust seems the best way to ensure its retention. It is a matter for later discussion, but present thinking is that the Trust should aim to make available space not covered by Lambeth’s lease, for activities that the 7

library service is able to operate. For example, Trust space might be available for quiet study, computer access, literacy and other clubs and classes. This portfolio can be developed as part of the work we will set in place to develop an Activities Plan for the Trust. A dialogue with the Council will develop this thinking.

A majority of members of the Project Group are of the view that retention of the existing library in its current space is impracticable as part of the new arrangement, and probably unfundable. Consideration should be given to consolidating the library service into the frontage rooms on either side of the entrance, and transferring the Gallery space from Lambeth to the Trust.

However, this remains a sensitive issue and the matter of the uses in the frontage rooms, and the income they can generate, requires further detailed consideration.

9 Option 2: Library at Front and Income-generating uses Option 2a: Nursery in Basement 9.1 The Architects advise that the excavated space, together with the existing rooms in the basement, might be let out on a long-term (25 year) lease to a private commercial nursery. This could generate a potentially significant rental income to the Trust, with a premium rent.

9.2 The Project Group has given careful consideration to this proposal and concluded that the legislation governing nurseries would require this use to be effectively permanently separated from the rest of the building where there would be free access to members of the public. This limitation would inhibit access to the upper floors from the Ferndene Road entrance and require the relocation of the public toilets from the basement to expensive space on the first floor that could be better used. A nursery would also require exclusive use of outdoor space and at present the residents of the flats have a right of access to the garden, as do staff and users of the library. This right would have to be negotiated away.

The remaining garden space around the perimeter of the building is unlikely to be suitable for nursery use as it is visible to, and potentially accessible from, the street.

The Project Group concluded that a private nursery use in the basement would be difficult to deliver in harmony with the other uses proposed for what will still be a public building, and is not in keeping with the Project Vision of retaining as much as possible of the building in community use in the long-term.

10 Option 2: Library at Front and Income-generating uses Option 2b: Gym in Basement 10.1 The Architects considered an option to rent out the excavated area and the existing rooms in the basement for use by a commercial gym. This would not be as lucrative as the nursery. However, subsequent technical work revealed that this use would require significant mechanical interventions for air-conditioning and utilities supply, and the space would lack the head-room needed for professional gym use, and so this Option is effectively impractical.

8

The Project Group concluded, in light of the technical advice and bearing in mind that Herne Hill already has a successful gym at Brockwell Park Lido and other fitness establishments, to which Carnegie would be offering competition, that this potential option should be disregarded.

11 Option 2: Library at Front and Income-generating uses Option 2c: Café in Basement and Residential in North Wing 11.1 Residential usage would provide the Trust with the most secure form of income.

The North Wing (the Ferndene Road side) could be converted to apartments for rental on all three floors.

11.2 The remainder of the basement, which is unsuitable for residential, could be adapted as a café/bar and be used for kitchen and re-located new toilet purposes. These potential uses in this location would be subject to further consideration and technical work, and there is, in particular, a need to test the business viability of a café/bar. Funding for the building alterations and equipment required for this will not be forthcoming unless a robust business case is made. If a café/bar proves not to be viable the space will be required for other income-generating uses and a pop-up café trolley might be operated out of the existing kitchen.

11.3 However, the addition of further residential in the building (there are four flats in the South Wing) would add to the issues of managing busy public activities in a building where people are trying to live, particularly in the basement, where they could be in close proximity to a public café and toilets for the whole building. Conversion would be expensive, with the installation of domestic heating, lighting, kitchen and bathroom facilities, which would represent an effectively irreversible intervention.

The Project Group concluded that the provision of further private residential accommodation, albeit in order to generate secure income for the Trust, is incompatible with the nature of a community building, and the conversion works needed would be such that the Trust would be unlikely to be able to afford to recover these spaces for community uses in the future should its financial situation improve.

12 Option 3: Library at Front and Workspace/café uses Option 3a: Workspaces in Basement and Ground-Floor Cafe 12.1 This option involves devoting the whole of the basement area to space to be rented out for income generating purposes. The existing toilets would be relocated within the basement to an internal area where artificial ventilation can be provided. The space released would be used for a new kitchen to service the café and office space for the new Trust. The room on the ground floor in the North Wing, adjoining the main hall would become the café/bar, where it is more easily accessible to people using the library during the day or attending events in the main hall or rooms in the South Wing on the ground floor operated 9

by the Trust for community purposes. It will also be separately accessible from the Ferndene Road entrance should the main hall be in use. This room would require sound proofing as it adjoins the main hall.

The Project Group concluded that there is a strong case for allocating areas in the North Wing and basement for business rental. Those areas are suited to this use, because they already have the separate entrance from Ferndene Road.

Toilet provision for the whole building could be retained within the basement.

(The alternative would be to create new toilet provision on the ground floor, so losing prime usable space). The former Lecture Theatre on the first floor of the North Wing, currently rented out for workspaces, should continue as rentable space.

13 Option 3: Library at Front and Workspace/café uses Option 3b: Café in Basement and Workspaces in North Wing 13.1 The provision of a café/bar will necessitate some building interventions and this will have less impact in the basement area. Kitchen and toilet facilities can be provided in internal spaces and the café would be open to the garden, and be separately accessible from the Ferndene Road entrance if there are events taking place upstairs. The existing office and toilet spaces in the basement can be converted to be commercial rentable space. The remaining rooms in the North Wing can also be adapted to be commercial rentable space, as could part of the frontage room currently occupied by the library. As the library service will need all of the remaining frontage rooms this option implies the loss of the existing gallery. The remainder of the ground floor would be devoted to community space to be operated by the Trust.

The Project Group recognises that the financial viability of the whole project depends on creating sufficient space that can be rented out in order to generate an income stream to the Trust. This option has attractions in that it locates the potential noisy café/bar, kitchen and toilets in a part of the building where new building interventions have least impact, noise can be contained and independent access to the street is possible. However, the potential of the café, which will now occupy a lot of rentable space, to generate income to the Trust is unproven, and a great deal of the rest of the building is now devoted to more secure rentable uses. Nonetheless, there are elements of this option that make sense and it requires careful consideration.

14 Other Issues 14.1 The Project Group identified the need for a community meeting room and this could be provided in the existing room on the ground floor in the South Wing, adjoining the existing kitchen, which may or may not be retained.

14.2 The existing work room on the ground floor in the South Wing could be used for offices and possible desk space for community groups.

10

14.3 The rear garden will remain in community use as a safe and enclosed space and be the responsibility of the Trust with, possibly, a Conservatory to be erected on the north side (near bike sheds) with toilets and in order to improve facilities for garden users.

14.4 The grounds will be landscaped but in a way that takes account of the involvement over many years by local volunteers.

14.5 Disabled access will be provided at the front and within the building, and a new and better lift should be considered for the rear of the building in the garden, which, subject to design and conservation issues, may be more efficient than present arrangements.

August 2014

11