Local club needs £300,000
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
29/08/2008
Council bosses are trying to save a much loved local venue which is faced with a repair bill up to £300,000.
Ginglik is a small, but popular, local venue, based in an old Edwardian toilet, underneath Shepherds Bush Green.
The club has hosted a variety of artistic events - from comedy to music - since its opening seven years ago.
But now, expert building surveyors have examined the club and ruled that the structure is in need of extensive repairs. Without adaptations - which would cost local taxpayers around £300,000, as the council is the landlord - the building will eventually become a serious safety risk.
Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council is actively helping Ginglik’s owners to search for new premises but Ginglik’s owners have now said they may try to find the £300,000 needed for repairs themselves.
Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh, H&F Council Leader, said: “The council has always wanted to keep Ginglik open and we will carry on talking to the club’s owners to see whether a solution can be found, either staying in the current location or moving elsewhere.”
Ginglik’s management have been given time to come up with firm proposals to fund the repairs to their club. If the club cannot meet this timetable, in order to meet central government deadlines, the council must press ahead with the £3 million regeneration of Shepherds Bush Green. 73 per cent of residents surveyed agreed that the overall plans for the new-look Shepherds Bush Green were ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
Cllr Greenhalgh added: “We support local traders and are particularly keen to see Ginglik remain in the borough. But the reality is taxpayers cannot afford the £300,000 it would cost to make this building safe.
“If the club can come up with the money themselves then that could change things. Failing that, the only thing we can do is to help them find another venue in the borough.”
