Hackney’s Mayor Jules Pipe accused of ‘washing his hands’ of threatened St Mary’s Lodge

St Mary’s Lodge is the subject of a row between the Liberal Democrats’ Tony Harms and Hackney’s Labour Mayor Jules Pipe

A long-running row over one of Stoke Newington’s most historic landmarks has been reignited after Hackney’s Mayor Jules Pipe was accused of having “washed his hands” of the issue.

St Mary’s Lodge on Lordship Road was controversially sold by Hackney Council to the Torah Etz Chaim Synagogue in 2002 on the understanding that the building, a once grand Georgian-era house, would be converted into a community resource.

The property, an erstwhile hostel for single mothers for forty years, has since languished in disrepair and has been damaged by fire and used as a dumping ground for hundreds of fly-tipped tyres.

At the last council meeting Liberal Democrat activist Tony Harms asked Mayor Pipe if, after 13 years of planning negotiations, he was now ready to buy back St Mary’s Lodge.

Mr Harms pointed the finger of blame at the council for selling the property at a price he said was far below its market value over a decade ago.

Friends of St Mary’s Lodge, a group that has documented the decline of the building, has launched a petition to make the issue the subject of a full council debate.

Campaigners fear any further delay may result in the property falling beyond repair. They say they now want to “strike while the iron is hot”.

Tony Harms said: “Local residents have to stand and watch as this historic house falls apart. It is much loved locally and its derelict state is an eyesore and a health and fire hazard.”

In 2008 Hackney Council said it recognised the situation with St Mary’s Lodge was “not satisfactory”, adding: “We are investigating all avenues to try to bring this property back into use.”

Mayor Pipe has accepted the building has been “derelict for far too long”.

He defended the original sale price, contending that the Town Hall was forced to accept a discount after setting the condition that the building serves a charitable purpose.

Mayor Pipe said he would personally favour a compulsory purchase order “tomorrow”, but he added that this would fail because the owners are in ongoing negotiations over a second development proposal.  Their first plan, to convert the lodge into a nursery school, was rejected in 2011.

Tony Harms said the “excuse” of ongoing planning negotiations had been used time and again for the last twelve years.

In 2002 the property was sold to the trustees of the Torah Etz Chaim Synagogue. It has since switched hands to Keren Habinyan Ltd.

Related: 

Hackney Council approves plan to demolish Dalston’s historic Georgian terrace