By Robert Firth and Francesca Rapisarda, Local Democracy Reporter
Stockwell kids are hanging out in chicken shops because of the lack of youth clubs while a nearby community centre remains locked up, a local campaigner has claimed.
Nickie Bell, 54, is calling on Lambeth council to open up the building in Stockwell’s Larkhall Park to volunteers so they can run activities for the hundreds of children who live in the local area.
Almost one in three children in Stockwell West and Larkhall ward, where the park is located, are from low-income households. Many families live on one of the six large estates that surround the park and don’t have access to their own outdoor space.
But the community centre in Larkhall Park has been lying empty since Summer last year, when a charity that was running events from the building packed up. Nickie and other residents want the Labour-run local council to hand over the building, known as the One O’clock Club, to them at peppercorn rent so they can begin offering activities for local kids.
But so far Nickie and other volunteers claim their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. They recently discovered the council intends to demand commercial rent for the building, which they can’t afford.
Nickie, who is secretary of the Friends of Larkhall Park said: “There’s nowhere for kids to go. They go to the chicken shop because the chicken shops have become the de facto youth clubs. There are so many youth workers here who are committed. If they [Lambeth] gave us the property at peppercorn rent, we could do so much with it.
“But we have been told it’s going to be a commercial rent. We don’t know how much but the café in the park has a commercial rent and that’s £40,000 per year. We haven’t got that money.”
Nickie added that the council had previously given similar buildings in parks across the borough to operators for free, such as Our Green Hut at Brixton Windmill and The Spinney in Clapham Common. Under the Friends of Larkhall Park’s plans, at least three play sessions for under 5s would be held each day at the premises, as well as a range of other activities such as coffee mornings, book clubs and sports groups for teenagers.
Ben Rhymer, 45, who is chairman of the Friends of Larkhall Park, said: “Around this park there’s five big estates and there’s a lot of need. There’s about 35,000 people within a mile of the park and the building was very well used before.
“It’s a huge missed opportunity but it could be a great thing for all the people here. We have about 500 dog walkers. People come and they would stay here if the club was open.”
Ida Turner, 67, a local resident who has previously bid to run the centre, said the area was in desperate need of a community hub —adding that a local free kids’ tennis club currently had to store equipment in a bin store when it rained due to the lack of appropriate facilities in the park.
Lola Oloyede, who runs Oasisplay, a group that runs play and educational activities for Lambeth residents, said that demand in the area was so high she was having to turn kids away from organised events ‘on a daily basis’.
Lambeth council has been contacted for comment.
Pictured top: (Left to right) Ida Turner, Ben Rhymer, Gina Douglas, Nickie Bell and Lola Oloyede outside the empty One O’clock Club building in Larkhall Park (Picture: LDRS)