Big investment comes into play to improve adventure playgrounds and youth clubs across the borough
This significant investment boost will enable the Council to upgrade all adventure playgrounds and youth clubs, providing new equipment, small building refurbishments, and cutting-edge technology over the next three months. Every site will soon offer free WiFi for young people, on-site printing, and improved access to Council systems for staff. A new entry system will also be installed to capture attendee details, supporting safer and more inclusive environments.
Cllr Edison Huynh, Cabinet Member for children and young people, says:
“We are delighted to have secured over £500,000 funding to invest in our youth spaces to install climbing equipment, zip wires, carpentry tools, a community kitchen, as well as free wifi across all the youth clubs.
These upgrades to youth clubs and adventure playgrounds across Lewisham Borough will ensure that our young people have safe, supportive, and enriching environments to hang out in during afterschool, weekend, and holiday periods.”
Home Park adventure playground in Sydenham, Ladywell Fields adventure playground in Catford/Ladywell, and Richard MacVicar in Deptford are all due to get brand new kitchen/café facilities and equipment delivered as both permanent and mobile units to make it a space where families can come and socialise with a hot drink. Richard MacVicar adventure playground will also get climbing wall extension and ten sets of climbing equipment, so that young people can practice their climbing skills.
Woodpecker Youth Club and Honor Oak Youth and Family Hub will get new outdoor gym equipment. Honor Oak Adventure Playground will get a new chill-out zone and outdoor cooking area as well as an intergenerational carpentry workshop and equipment to make the space much more than just an adventure playground.
There will be a fantastic new gaming and digital spaces for Honor Oak Youth and Family Hub and Riverside Youth Club to make it a place young people can come and game together, socialise and make new friends instead of staying at home in their bedrooms.
Riverside Youth Club will also get a fantastic music studio to allow young people to make, mix and produce their own tracks, plus there will be new dance room equipment, including large portable mirrors for any budding dancers and choreographers or anyone with a passion for dance and learning new skills.
In addition to the improvements in the parks, the council has secured a minibus and suitable seating for young people with SEND, and sensory garden installations with shade canopy for the Rockbourne Youth Centre.
Nick Temple, CEO for Social Investment Business, that manages the Better Youth Spaces fund, said:
“We are excited to be partnering with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to support youth services in priority areas in England and create ‘better youth spaces’ for young people. Through a combination of funding refurbishment projects and providing new equipment, it will bring opportunities for young people to participate in a whole range of enrichment activities – across sports, music and cultural activities.
The fund will also help to expand access, create safer spaces, and make youth services more sustainable. This is a real boost for youth services in some of the communities which need it most, creating lasting impact for young people’s wellbeing.”
A second round of funding has been announced, focusing on equipment and vehicles. This funding marks a major step forward in Lewisham’s commitment to providing high-quality, inclusive spaces for young people, supporting their wellbeing, creativity, and prospects.