The £47m secret deal upending an arts centre in north London

A backroom agreement over the iconic Hornsey Town Hall has reminded locals: they've lost control

Illustration by @cllmrolodex

Morning — in the heart of Crouch End sits a landmark many locals once saw as the soul of their neighbourhood: Hornsey Town Hall.

The Grade II* listed building has been closed for years, undergoing a complex — and controversial — restoration. The community was promised it would reopen as an arts centre. But a £47m behind-the-scenes deal has thrown those plans into doubt.

The developer originally handed the town hall has now decided to sell. The buyer? A Cayman Islands-registered conglomerate few in the area have heard of. There’s been confusion, resignations, and a growing sense that public control has slipped away.

Today, we’re publishing a deep dive into how one of north London’s most iconic buildings was quietly sold off — and what that means for the future of Crouch End’s “creative village”.

The full story is below.

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‘It's our own fault. We weren’t clever enough to defeat them’: How a London town hall slipped through the community’s hands

By the Spy team

Hornsey Town Hall in 2018, before the start of redevelopment work. Photo credit: Michael Heath

Some locals now call Hornsey Town Hall the "dead centre" of Crouch End.

Once the heart of cultural life in the north London neighbourhood, the striking modernist building has been shuttered to the public for seven years.

A leaking roof and rampant asbestos forced the community out in the 2010s. The local council, Haringey, had struck a deal: a private redevelopment of the site in exchange for repairs and a revived arts venue.

Locals have been waiting to return since 2018, with growing impatience.

Then, in November 2024, there was a flicker of hope.

Historic England announced it was removing the town hall from its at-risk register of buildings, having been impressed by recent restoration work.

It was a win for Haringey council, which has long faced criticism for handing off the public building to a global real estate conglomerate with deeper pockets.

But how quickly things can change when money is involved.

In the past few weeks, it's come to light that the developer has agreed to sell the building for £47m, a move which has caught not just locals but also the council off guard.

There's been fallout — an executive has resigned and a proposed operator of the town hall arts centre has been unceremoniously dumped.

And despite reassurances from the council's leadership, there's a lingering sense no one knows what's truly gone on. Most now expect the overdue project to be delayed further.

It's been a stark reminder for Crouch End's community: they've lost control of Hornsey Town Hall.

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Chris Setz remembers the old Hornsey Town Hall fondly.