As you will be aware, following a very successful competitive tendering exercise to ensure best value for the Inn, we have appointed Sir Robert McAlpine Special Projects as the main contractor for the Project. Construction work will start in May/June this year with completion of the Project in spring 2021. The decant from the Treasury Building is necessarily a process which will take time and will begin immediately after Easter this year. The current programme for the next few months (with more information to follow) is then broadly as follows:
- 13 May - Site handover
- To end July - Enabling works
- 20 May to 29 July - Scaffolding
- From 28 May - building works begin
During the construction period, all the Inn’s activities that are normally housed in the Treasury Building and Hall will be relocated. Please note the following key points on continuation of our services and some adjustments to them:
- The Inn will continue to deliver its entire Education and Training programme to the usual high standard throughout the Project, with the only difference being that the main venue will be off-site. Most of our London-based education activities will take place at King’s College London, at nearby Aldwych. Call Nights will continue to be held in the Temple Church, with receptions nearby.
- A temporary Library will be situated a few minutes’ walk from Inner Temple and will continue to provide a full range of services to users. These include provision of textbooks (current and old editions), journals, law reports and the Commonwealth collection; access to subscription databases, including Lexis Library and Westlaw; a document supply service; legal research training and web services. Opening hours will remain the same – 9am to 8pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 7pm on Friday. Acquisition of the temporary Library space is well advanced but awaits legal completion.
- The Inn’s collegiate events will be taking place in a selection of prestigious nearby venues.
- The Inner Temple offices will relocate, where necessary, to 1 Mitre Court or remain in 2 King’s Bench Walk and 6 King’s Bench Walk. Most committee meetings will take place in 3(S) King’s Bench Walk and 1 Mitre Court. The Inn’s offices will therefore be located as follows:
- 1 Mitre Court – reception desk, Treasury Office, Treasurer’s Office, Sub-Treasurer’s Office, Porter’s Office and IT Department (from 23 April 2019)
- To be confirmed – temporary Library (awaiting legal completion)
- 2 King’s Bench Walk – Education & Training Department (as now)
- 3(S) King’s Bench Walk – meeting rooms, Student Society accommodation and Catering office (from 23 April 2019)
- 6 King’s Bench Walk – Collector’s and Surveyor’s Departments (as now)
- The last lunch in Hall until 2021 will be served on 18 April 2019. During the intervening period, members will be able to exercise their reciprocal rights to lunch at the other Inns’ Halls. Middle Temple have kindly agreed that Inner Temple Benchers will be able to lunch at their High Table. (Unlike Inner Temple, Middle Temple have a light-touch dress code in place.)
- The Pegasus Bar will be closed after 18 April 2019 and will reopen in 2021.
- The Car Park will still be available, though there will be a slight reduction in spaces.
- More events will be held on Circuit during Project Pegasus.
Additional information about other venues will be published shortly. If you are booking an event from May 2019 onwards, details of the venue will be clearly stated on the booking information. Please check the location carefully before booking. You can book events through our website, which also includes more details about Project Pegasus.
Of course, the Inn is much more than the Treasury Building; it is about being a family of members (students, practitioners, judges and others), residents, tenants and staff. While physical locations may be different during Project Pegasus, the Inner Temple’s ethos and communal spirit will remain the same. To help achieve this, we shall have the traditional summer marquee in place again for this year and next. This will be the venue for events such as our Summer Party and Big Picnic, as well as the Trinity Term Call Night Reception. We want our acclaimed Garden to remain the heart of Inn life during Project Pegasus – as you know, it is a wonderful place to exercise, relax, picnic or meet friends and colleagues. We are reviewing the seating in the Garden with this in mind. Those members who do not currently have a key fob to access the Garden outside of the public opening hours can approach the Treasury Office to apply for one.
If you work or live in the Temple area and you would like to receive regular updates about Project Pegasus, please sign up for our Project Pegasus newsletter which will provide detailed information from Sir Robert McAlpine on planned phases of work during the construction period. Details of how to sign up will be published soon.
In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact us at views@innertemple.org.uk. Further information will be issued during the next few weeks.