A community hall opened by Sir Keir Starmer late in 2023 is still empty and inaccessible to the people who should be using it.

The Holborn and St Pancras MP praised the redeveloped Maitland Park Estate in Haverstock in December 2023 after 119 new homes - including 51 council homes were built.

But Kirsteen McDonagh of the Maitland Park Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) told Camden Council this week that instead of hosting community events, the hall is being used by builders to store supplies.

She told Camden Council on Monday that the doors were locked immediately after the opening ceremony.

“It’s appalling,” she added, explaining that the only people who can enter are the security guards.

“We are a large estate with 500 homes, and our TRA has been unable to provide any activities for our community,” said McDonagh.

Antony Grey Court - one of the buildings in the Maitland Park Estate. Photo: Nathalie Raffray

Antony Grey Court - one of the buildings in the Maitland Park Estate. Photo: Nathalie Raffray

“There have been many residents who have questioned why we are not using the hall, and this has proved very difficult to answer, because we’ve never been given an answer.”

A previous community hall on the Maitland Park estate was knocked down to build more homes, with a “written promise via planning permission” that a new one was to be built.

“It would be an understatement to tell you how difficult it has been for our committee to operate without our promised community hall,” said McDonagh.

Camden Council says it has not granted access to the TRA yet because it is still looking for a commercial operator, or possible a community operator" due to the centre's running costs.

Ms McDonagh said the group was told that when it does get access it will be for committee meetings, then possibly tenant and resident meetings, but not to hire out or to use the hall in the capacity that it was originally built for.

“We have lost community spirit,” she said. “We are fighting to implement change on this estate, to gain the trust of our tenants and residents, we want this to be a safe space for the children that live here to grow up in, for the environment to be a place where children can thrive, to bridge a gap between the elderly and the young.”

McDonagh explained that TRA members fear they are losing the trust of the estate, and that the organisation they have built “from the ground up” is facing increasing pressure ahead of its AGM this autumn.

“There are so many areas in London that are not considered safe spaces, and we are trying to create a community, where we can bring everyone together,” she continued, “and the community hall is there, ready, waiting and empty.”

Haverstock councillor Kemi Atolagbe, who is also a resident of Maitland Park Estate called for “positive engagement with the TRA” and “fair access to the hall”.

Councillors Nasrine Djemai and Rebeca Filler, and Conservative leader Cllr Steve Adams, also backed the the TRA.

Cllr Sagal Abdi-Wali, cabinet member for better homes, said the council is still “trying to negotiate how best to use this space”, and that “financial constraints” mean it cannot subsidise the £30k to £40k annual running costs.