Steve,
Anybody can apply to de-list a building it is the same form as the application form for listed status. If Roz wishes to submit an application for de-listing she does not need anybody else in the community or on the council to back this.

We have seen three failed attempts to list the pool building, and one failed appeals against the listing of a school in Lewisham. I think the lesson should be that English Heritage do not easily change their minds. But there is nothing to stop any member of the public attempting to de-list Louise House on an annual basis.

Roz,
De-listing would not, at this stage give us a better pool, certainly not by the end of 2012, nor would it help use the site for community uses. What it would enable is for the council to sell the site for the maximum profit, to a developer wishing to build a large number of flats on an empty site sandwiched between a listed building and a swimming pool. I can see no possibility of keeping the site in community use if it were de-listed. The council would be obligated to maximise the value of the land sale, and there are many in the council who would like to use the site to help achieve the difficult housing targets set by local and regional government.

What we do have is a small opportunity to do something special with a building which the council cannot make any money from due to its listed status. The merits of listing this building is hardly the issue, what is the issue should be how can this site be best used for the community and I am pleased that there are some in the community who are putting a lot of effort into exploring these options.

I would love to see the building used for small theatre productions, occasional cinema, music lessons, drama lessons, dance and yoga classes. I think such a development would be of great benefit to the whole community but especially to young people.

If the building can be maintained in community ownership, then the best tribute to Korczak would be to involve young people in the area in making decisions about what should take place in the building and how it is run. I would suggest that young people are given 50% of the say in the management of this project - not an easy ask. But from having read a variety of documents about Korczak, I expect that this is what he would do today with such an opportunity.