Grove Park YC News
May 2021
Grove Park Youth Club Building Preservation Trust is delighted to announce we have secured funding from The National Lottery Community Fund!
This funding will allow our trust to run Grove Park Youth Club (GPYC) from summer 2021 for the first time since it was permanently closed in 2013. The funding supports our trust to pay bills, some capital investement, some employment and generally support our work over two years to make this a sustainable and long lasting community hub with an emphasis on the needs of young people.
Out trusts’s work has been, until most recently, all voluntary over five years and after identifying this funding source in 2017, we are finally in receipt of National Lottery support - delayed a whole year by the Covid19 pandemic. There has been many challenges on the way for our small voluntary trust of Grove Park residents and some thought it would be an impossible task as over the last decade over 800 youth clubs have closed in the UK. Today we can announce that soon GPYC will open and a new youth club facility will be available for young people - a truly remarkable feat of community determination, courage and dedication. Thank you to #NationalLottery players and @TNLComFund for awarding us to help reopen and run #GroveParkYouthClub
August 2020
Covid 19 and GPYC
For obvious reasons we could not undertake our planned refurbishment works this spring and open as planned. We have had at least a six month delay to our work and our funding applications are also on hold. We hope to recommence the refurbishment works on the building this Autumn if government rules allow.
We have been disrupted by Covid 19 but hope to get back on track soon. In the meantime please follow us on social media for latest updates.
Thank you
Save Your
Youth Club!
Petition now closed - A Big Thank you to everyone who for signed we have a huge response of over 1,000 signatures
November 2019
£50k secured to fully renovate GPYC!
£50,000 secured by the BPT from the L&Q Foundation will fully renovate Grove Park Youth Club to opening condition! Read more here.
May 2019
Lewisham East MP Janet Daby mentions Grove Park Youth Club in Parliament speech on youth violence and provision:
Grove Park Youth Club featured in ITV London News report on loss of youth provision in the capital:
Highlights from the Willmott Dixon Interiors refurbishment of Grove Park Youth Club and our community party on 17th August:
Take a look at our short film about the Great Get Together at the Youth Club and local people’s thoughts about our campaign:
May 24, 2019
Lewisham East MP Janet Daby is Grove Park Youth Club BPT's new Patron!
News! Grove Park Youth Club BPT is very pleased to announce our new patron, Janet Daby MP. Thank you Janet for supporting our campaign both locally and recently with your House of Commons speech on youth provision. We look forward to working with you on our journey to reopen Grove Park Youth Club. We hope that day is not too far away!
Here is an extract from Janet's speech in the House of Commons on 15th May 2019:
"Spending on youth services has fallen by 70% under the Government, which has affected the Grove Park youth club in my constituency. The club closed in 2013 as central Government cuts meant that the council could no longer afford to maintain it. Its catchment area encompasses around 7,000 young people, and it is situated in one of Lewisham’s most deprived wards. On the local estate, two incidents of serious youth stabbings have been recorded in the period since the youth club closed. Government statistics show that crime in the club’s catchment area rose between 2010 and 2015 despite an overall reduction in crime in the borough. I support bringing this much-needed club back into use; it should be given consideration as part of the Government-led public health approach."
January 14, 2019
The Guardian interviews our Chair for feature on young Londoners' future
An article published in the Guardian today features the Building Preservation Trust and our Chair Rob Clayton - 'As the city’s population nears 10 million and its murder rate reaches its highest in a decade, are young Londoners suffering disproportionately?'
Here is an extract:
Among the 81 youth clubs that have shuttered since 2011 is Grove Park in Lewisham, south-east London, which closed in 2013 when the local council implemented central government cuts that have slashed 34% (almost £1.5m) from its youth services budget since 2011. Another £200,000 will go in this year’s budget. (Neighbouring Southwark and Lambeth have experienced cuts of more than 50%.) Property developers swooped in with plans to knock it down and build new flats.
“It was built in 1966, and it’s served the community for almost five decades,” says Rob Clayton, chairman of the youth centre’s building preservation trust, which has been campaigning to get it reopened since 2015. “Nobody wants it demolished. All the locals are saying there’s a need for a youth club here – but all of a sudden it was gone, and the Labour MP Heidi Alexander was standing there, next to property developers, giving the local community this ‘There’s no magic money tree’ type of lecture.”
Clayton refused to give up, helping organise tireless voluntary campaigning by the community, from public meetings and lobbying the council to working with architects and establishing its importance as a Bauhaus-inspired building. He and his fellow campaigners fitted the work around full-time jobs. “I put in about 40 hours a month on this,” he says. “I come from a working-class background, grew up on a council estate, and I’m not massive about youth clubs – but it’s just the general fabric of our society being broken down and asset-stripped. And I thought if I can’t do something nationally, I can do something on my doorstep.”
The building was saved from demolition in August 2017. The party was attended by Alexander’s replacement as local MP, Janet Daby, who has been much more supportive, and although a lot of work remains to get the centre open again, it felt like something of a turning point, Clayton says.
“It was just fantastic seeing the building come to life again that day, after all those years closed,” he says. “We had singers, rap artists, dancers, someone cooking jerk chicken – it was a sunny day and it was just a wonderful atmosphere. It was a taste of the future, and what we’re trying to get back.
“And I think some of the local politicians have realised it’s not a good look closing youth clubs while young people are killing each other right, left and centre.”
September 19, 2018
Grove Park Youth Club BPT awarded grant from Architectural Heritage Fund
The Building Preservation Trust has been awarded a £6500 grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund! We are being funded to carry out a feasibility study for realising our community's plan for the Youth Club - to transform it into a multi-use youth enterprise hub providing pathways to employment and a hub for the whole community. We have 6 months to produce the report and will be working with an architect and business planner to bring this vision to funding partners and stakeholders.
August 14, 2018
Community Party at GPYC on 17th August!
Join us for a day of celebrating the end of Willmott Dixon's refurbishment of GPYC! From 12.30 to 3.30 this Friday (17th August), there will be an open community party in the Youth Club - including speeches from GPYC members and Janet Daby MP, activities, and food!
July 27, 2018
The refurbishment of GPYC begins!
From Monday 30th July anyone passing the youth club in Grove Park will finally see the building receiving the care it deserves. Now the building has been saved, work is beginning on the first step to reopening next year. This is thanks to the amazing and generous support of Willmott Dixon Interiors, who will be carrying out a multi-thousand restoration of the club between 30th July and 17th August. This is an exciting and extremely significant development and a major step towards reopening GPYC and obtaining a local listing for the building from the Council. If anyone wishes to help with the works, please turn up at the site or contact:
communityinteriors@willmottdixon.co.uk
You can follow progress of the restoration over our social media channels too!
June 13, 2018
Grove Park Youth Club featured in the Lewisham Ledger newspaper!
Memories of Grove Park Youth Club from those who met neighbours, husbands, and life-long friends there. Read all about it in Lewisham's new (free!) community newspaper, the Lewisham Ledger. Click the link to see where you can pick up a copy!
September 20, 2017
Press Release
It has been a very busy summer for the Grove Park Youth Club Building Preservation Trust!
Since the fantastic, sunny and successful “Great Get Together”, in the youth club grounds, and since receiving confirmation from Lewisham Council to go ahead and formulate our plans, we have been building positive partnerships to bring the reopening of the building a reality. Here is the latest news:
In the summer a tender was announced for an increased budget for part-time youth provision in the Grove Park area by Youth First. Youth First are the organisation overseeing youth provision in the Lewisham Borough and their website is here: www.youthfirst.org.uk
The GPYC BPT immediately sprung into action and held several meetings with potential partners to help with a tender to win this money for the youth club. In an extremely short period of time, our volunteer directors held meetings with Wide Horizons (www.widehorizons.org.uk), the Rio Ferdinand Foundation (www.rioferdinandfoundation.com), Phoenix Community Housing, Youth First and ChART.
The tender to provide youth provision in Grove Park for two years has now been awarded to Elevating Success (www.elevatingsuccess.co.uk) and they begin a three evening provision per week in the WG Grace Centre. A significant and very positive understanding has been established with Elevating Success and Youth First and this now forms the basis for a positive future for our Youth Club building. The GPYC BPT has received written confirmation that as soon as we have the building open and ready, the new youth provision will transfer into the building. So although we are not there just yet, we are getting closer as all parties are looking forward to being part of our exciting plans. We are now actively fundraising for the capital to restore the building and open the doors on behalf of the community of Grove Park. Currently we are waiting to hear if our application to the Mayor Of London’s “Good Growth Fund” will be given the green light.
The above process has also allowed us to secure agreements in principle that Wide Horizons and the Rio Ferdinand Foundation are looking forward to providing their own funded youth provision at the site and are looking forward to delivering new programmes from the building once opened. Moreover in these negotiations we are making good progress on the future management and care of the facility.
We continue to work hard on our business planning and are scheduling further rounds of meetings with an aim to opening of our cherished community heritage asset in early 2018.
Now, we need help! YOU can help in big and small ways and all are much appreciated - here is how:
Visit our website and join our mailing list and sign our petition here, www.groveparkyouthclub.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter here, @groveparkyc
Follow us on Facebook here, www.facebook.com/groups/GPYCBPT
Share and share again!
If you have experience in business planning, marketing, social media campaigns or graphic design we want you as part of our team. Just a few hours per month could make big difference to your community and its future! So please get in touch with our Chair, Rob Clayton, directly on 07850 050937 or by email rob@robclayton.co.uk
June 22, 2017
Great News!!
Lewisham Council have written to the GPYC BPT to say they are interested in working with us to find a solution to bringing back youth and wider community services in the existing youth club building!! The council are going to engage with us going forward. There is a huge amount of work to do, but this is a very positive step forward.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far.
June 05, 2017
London Festival of Architecture
Grove Park Building Preservation Trust is going to be part of the London Festival of Architecture.
Come and share your memories at The Great Get Together on June 18th
May 29, 2017
Community Clean Up
Before the Great Get Together on July 18th we have two community clear up evenings. Please come along if you can on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th June from 5.30pm in your Youth Club grounds on Marvels Lane.
We will be doing general tidying, sweeping and weeding etc. Lets show we care! Please spread the word
May 19, 2017
The Great Get Together
ChART will be hosting an event for The Great Get Together on Marvels Lane near the Chinbrook Road junction.
Come along and get involved!
Keep an eye on this event listing for more details as they are confirmed, and get in touch if you'd like to help.
june 18th - 12pm - 4pm
March 15, 2017
Grove Park a Municipal Dream!
Our campaign has caught the attention of the authoritative and excellent blog, “Municipal Dreams”. Take a read all about the Chinbrook Estate and the Youth Club’s part of this unsung part of South east London, it is a fascinating read with great pictures too…
June 2021
Saturday 19th June we are open as part of London Festival of Architecture from 10.00am until 5.00pm.
We will be screening a short film that is in the making about the history of GPYC...
March 2021
Great news! Our long delayed refurbishment part two (part one was 2018) is now underway. We are doing several repairs that will finally make the building ready for use. If you go past you will see work being undertaken over the next few weeks and this includes such things as:
* Flat roof replacement
* Sky light replacement
* Heating system repair
* Health and safety Upgrades
* Broken window replacements
* Security upgrades
* Fire Alarm upgrades
Once complete the building is almost ready for use - no more leaking roofs and buckets on the floor!. The reopening will be gradual and a lot of work remains to sort out the facilities management details, legal aspects, tenancy agreements, insurances etc. and of course all this is being done with the Covid19 pandemic issue challenges.
We are now seeking charity status and we are also awaiting a decision from The National Lottery for additional funding.
It is great to see the final works coming together and we really look forward to the day when our young people can start to use the building again. Finally if you would like to help please get in touch - if you could volunteer just a few hours per month then you would be most welcome, so just send us a message if you would like to help a bit.