London Health Sciences Centre revokes proposed demolition of buildings near Parkwood Hospital

Londons largest hospital is backing off the demolition of a former war veterans village, a plan which would uproot the citys tree-planting booster and likely doom a below-radar radar museum.

ReForest London and the Secrets of Radar Museum are both tenants in the Western Counties Pavilions near Parkwood Hospital, on London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) lands on the edge of the Westminster Ponds.

Museum board officials were told it would have to vacate the Huron Pavilion in 90 days because its being demolished.

ReForest London, which, along with several environmental groups, rents space in the Bruce Pavilion, had expected to hear the same news last Friday but a meeting with a hospital official was cancelled.

Tuesday, after being contacted by The Free Press, LHSC president Murray Glendining issued a statement saying lease-termination notice was premature and would be revoked.

We recognize that the Westminster Ponds area is important to the community and we commit to broad consultation with all the key stakeholders before decisions are made, said Glendining in the statement.

The Secrets of Radar Museum has been a tenant since 2003. Curator Maya Hirschman said it operates on a shoestring budget and had negotiated cheap rent with David Crockett, then LHSCs vice-president of facilities management

He felt very strongly the hospital should be a good community citizen and we trusted him, said Hirschman.

But Crockett has since retired and been replaced by Dipesh Patel.

Hirschman said hospital officials told museum board members the old buildings were being demolished because they were too costly to heat and maintain.

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London Health Sciences Centre revokes proposed demolition of buildings near Parkwood Hospital