Croxley Red Cross building to be vacated by mid-September

The British Red Cross centre in Barton Way, Croxley Green, has been largely out of use since 2019 after the charity stopped using it because a review found it was “too large for our needs”.

The Welcome Club currently meets at the centre every Monday, to allow residents to dance and socialise, but the British Red Cross has apparently served it notice to quit which will come into effect on September 13.

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Three Rivers District Council has clarified the situation, stating that the premises will become vacant in September but that the council is not obliged to take possession until November.

Council leader Stephen Giles-Medhurst said he understands that the Welcome Club has found a suitable alternative location for its meetings at All Saints Church, Croxley Green, from September. The council will allow the Welcome Club to keep items on the premises for up to three months after the transfer.

The long term future of the building is currently the subject of competing plans. Croxley Green Parish Council wants to move its offices there, while retaining part of it as a community space, and has already formally submitted an offer to achieve this.

The British Red Cross centre in Barton Way, Croxley Green. (Image: Three Rivers District Council)

If the parish council does not take the building on, a plan to demolish the building and construct a three-floor building with nine social affordable homes upstairs while maintaining a “modern” community space on the ground floor is expected to be proposed.

Officers are still assessing the options for the building’s future, having recently received an independent valuation. These will be discussed after the August bank holiday next week.

Once a decision is reached the council will likely go to Hertfordshire County Council for agreement and will engage directly with Croxley Green Parish Council.

Three Rivers District Council has confirmed that it will need to assess the building once it is handed over and may need to invite contractors into the building to do so.