Charity calls on council to save youth club from demolition
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Grant-makers John Lyon’s Charity has joined a campaign to prevent a youth centre in London from being demolished.
The Young Adult Centre (YAC) in Ealing, west London, is at risk of permanent closure under plans proposed by Ealing Council to redevelop the site for housing.
The youth club has been run on the site since the 1980s and is “pivotal in the lives of young people in Ealing”, said John Lyon’s Charity that is campaigning for YAC to remain open.
The charity says the YAC's location in the Southall area of the borough is one the most deprived areas in England.
“As the biggest funder for children and young people in North and West London, we urge Ealing Council to reconsider its decision to demolish the YAC and work with John Lyon’s Charity and other funders to keep it as a thriving community hub,” said John Lyon’s Charity chief executive Lynne Guyton.
She notes that in the last decade two youth centres have already closed in Ealing and the plans come as young people face heightened challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic to their mental and physical health and achievments at school.
A petition has been launched to prevent the youth centre being demolished and a social media campaign using the hashtag #SaveTheYAC is also underway.
"As the biggest funder for children and young people in North and West London, we urge @EalingCouncil to reconsider its decision to demolish the YAC and work with John Lyon’s Charity and other funders to keep it as a thriving community hub" - @CEOofJLC
— John Lyon's Charity (@JohnLyonCharity) July 5, 2021
➡️https://t.co/so8RJ4Vj0R pic.twitter.com/RzrRdLtTWc
The campaign is also being supported by Ealing Southall’s Labour MP Virendra Sharma, who will be among campaigners attending a meeting later this month to protest against the move.
"As the biggest funder for children and young people in North and West London, we urge @EalingCouncil to reconsider its decision to demolish the YAC and work with John Lyon’s Charity and other funders to keep it as a thriving community hub" - @CEOofJLC
— John Lyon's Charity (@JohnLyonCharity) July 5, 2021
➡️https://t.co/so8RJ4Vj0R pic.twitter.com/RzrRdLtTWc
Also involved in the campaign is Ealing based youth organisation Young Ealing Foundation.
Ealing council has been contacted for comment.
In February, a survey of more than 1,700 youth organisations found that two thirds had seen a rise in demand for their support and more than eight out of 10 had seen their income fall, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Research, also released in February, by YMCA, found that funding for youth services had been cut by almost three quarters over the last decade.
Councils spent £372m on youth services in 2019/20 - a reduction of 73 per cent since 2010/11, the research found.
