The fate of Ealing’s Victoria Hall could finally be settled next month, when a judge hears an appeal over plans by Labour-run Ealing Council to sell the historic community venue as part of a redevelopment of Ealing Town Hall.
The online hearing, scheduled for 19 November 2025, will consider a challenge brought by two local residents on behalf of the Friends of the Victoria Hall (FoVH). The group is appealing against the Charity Commission’s decision to allow Ealing Council to include the hall – legally owned by a charitable trust – in a 250-year lease to Mastcraft, a private developer.
The Friends group has raised over £125,000 to fund its legal battle and insists that the hall must remain a fully accessible, affordable space for the community.
FoVH chair Roger Green said: “This appeal was first lodged more than four years ago. The Hall has been closed down for more than two years and it’s high time that things were brought to a proper conclusion, with Ealing Council’s sell-off deal not being allowed to stand.”
Mr Green added: “We have constructed a very strong case, which will include some important new and compelling evidence. It shows beyond any doubt that the Council acted in its own interests, not those of the Ealing community who are the beneficiaries of the charity which owns the Hall.”
The Friends argue that the body overseeing the Victoria Hall Trust – which includes councillors from the ruling administration – has repeatedly failed to act in the interests of the charity’s beneficiaries, as required by law.
Built in the 1890s through public donations, the Victoria Hall has long served as a civic hub, hosting everything from community meetings and support groups to concerts and religious festivals. Campaigners say its loss would deprive the borough, one of London’s largest by population, of its only large and affordable public hall.
Ealing Council first proposed redeveloping the adjoining Town Hall in 2014, later agreeing a deal with a developer to turn the site into a luxury hotel. Under the plans, parts of the hall would be demolished or repurposed as facilities for a spa.
The Friends won a significant victory in 2023 when the High Court quashed the first Charity Commission scheme approving the sale, ruling that it failed to protect the trust’s interests. However, a revised version published last year remains under dispute.
FoVH continues to raise funds to cover its legal costs at savethevictoriahall.weebly.com
