The Alexandra Park and Palace Joint Advisory and Consultative Committee met on Tuesday 5th April 2016. The primary item on the agenda was a proposal for a new storage building in the West Yard of Alexandra Palace.

West Yard Storage Project

The meeting was scheduled to discuss the principles of a new storage building proposed for the West Yard of Alexandra Palace. This project is intended to address the displacement of event infrastructure due to the East Wing Restoration Project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Haringey Council. The report pack indicated that failure to find a new home for this infrastructure could significantly impact the Trust's gift aid to the Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust.

The report detailed that investigations found no suitable internal spaces within Alexandra Palace for the required storage. Consequently, attention turned to the West Yard, adjacent to the West Hall and Great Hall. The Surveyor to the Fabric, Purcell, was commissioned to prepare concept designs for a building that would not only provide storage but also offer commercial space, structural support to the North Wall, and bring the derelict North West Tower back into use.

The proposal outlined a three-storey steel structure, with basement and ground floors dedicated to event infrastructure storage. The upper levels are intended for commercial use, such as function rooms and a roof terrace, though other uses like office space were also to be considered. The project also aims to restore the North West Tower and undertake external restoration repairs to both the Tower and the North Wall.

The report indicated that an application for planning and listed building consent was to be made in April 2016. A pre-application meeting with London Borough of Haringey had reportedly received a positive response. The report recommended that the Committee note the contents of the report and advise the main Board where appropriate.

The report pack included concept drawings for the proposal and indicated a provisional project programme, with a target for completion on site in January 2017. The financial implications were to be considered by the Trust Board, focusing on affordability, prioritisation, business need, and value for money.

The meeting was also scheduled to cover standard procedural items, including filming at meetings, apologies for absence, declarations of interest, and urgent business. Dates for future meetings were also to be confirmed.