I agree it's very, very worrying. Work began on the interior of 25 Church Road on Saturday. Residents reported seeing sound insulation equipment being taken inside the building. The concern here is this building has never been used as a music venue in it's history and the existing sound and fire proofing are dated. When it operated as a bingo hall the sound of the caller's voice could be heard in nearby homes and gardens, the huge amps and PA systems that KICC use will need specialist sound proofing. Let's hope the system they're installing is ab;e to contain the noise they'll be producing.
There's also a public safety issue in that the current entrance/exit is too small for a venue proposing to be 2,000 capacity and it opens directly on to very narrow pavements and a bus stop! The doors and surrounding pavements could barley cope with the sudden exit of 500 people. It would be impossible to vacate the venue quickly and safely in an emergency if the volume of people the venue can take is to be increased beyond 1150. The Crystal Palace Triangle Planning Group are monitoring the situation and have notified Bromley building control and licensing departments today.
It's worth mentioning that the KICC's agents indicated that if they couldn't use 25 Church Road as a music venue then they would have to rethink their strategy. City Screens still want to buy the building. KICC are a registered charity, they bought the building out of charitable funds. The Charities Commission insists that charities invest money in projects that directly benefit the purpose of that charity. It remains to be seen how a nightclub will further the cause of a religous charity.