The existing 1931 building is located at the junction of Spring Hill and Clapton Common on an ‘island site’ in the Clapton Common Conservation Area, E5.

The building sits on a triangular site, bordered by roads on all three sides with a pavement on the south west only. It commands a prominent location.

The mock Tudor single storey building was built as a public convenience but had been unused for over 30 years. The building, although well built, was in a state of disrepair, with windows boarded up.

Clapton Commons (a community group established in 2013 with the simple aim to improve the local neighbourhood for the common good of all residents) had a vision for the building to covert it into a village hall for use by local groups and individuals, and so become a focal point in the neighbourhood. In order to facilitate this the building needed to be increased in size, albeit by a modest 22%.

The majority of existing external fabric was retained and repaired. The makeshift entrance porch was removed and replaced with a new porch with door and level entrance and a modest new extension built on the east side of the building.

The extensions have an overall frame which picks up on the scale of the mock Tudor external treatment of the existing building. Their lightweight construction with glazed walls contrasts with the existing building whilst allowing the form of the original building to retain its integrity. A new level entrance was created to the building and a new disability WC provided within the building.

Planning process was long and onerous with a particularly high level of consultation given that the property was under LB Hackney’s ownership. The development also required Common Land Consent. The submission of Pre-App was made in December 2014, full planning permission was applied for in April 2015, granted in April 2016 and approval of conditions was not received until November 2017.

Sustainability was an important priority. The scheme retained the majority of the external fabric, a large proportion of existing materials were reused (eg bricks, roof tiles). A high level of thermal insulation was introduced into the roof construction.

When the protection was removed from the outside, it was discovered that the original windows were still in place, so these were retained and refurbished, instead of installing all new windows.

Some of the existing internal joinery was salvaged from the WC cubicles and re-used in new locations.

The gents urinals were carefully removed and public workshops are planned this autumn to incorporate them into the design of bespoke cycle racks.

Tenders were were sought and obtained in late 2018 and the contract let in March 2019. Construction began in April 2019 with completion August 2020.

Clapton Commons acted as the development agent for LB Hackney and were responsible for financing the internal fit out. Funds were successfully raised via the Mayor of London's Spacehive platform which generated significant public support.

The hoardings around the site provided not only security during construction, but a very public noticeboard, which was used to thank supporters of the fundraising, advertise communal litter picks and Hackney Play Bus activities and during lockdown, became a Memori-wall for weekly 'circles' where local people could grieve for friends and family who had passed away during that time.