Council opens heritage youth club in Deptford
Riverside Youth Club is a partnership between Lewisham Council’s Youth Service and Millwall Community Trust to renovate the youth club to include a state-of-the-art 3G football pitch and games area, gym, indoor sports, kitchen, and flexible learning spaces for young people and the community. It was made possible by a generous £745,000 grant from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation.
Brenda Dacres, Mayor of Lewisham, said:
“I’m proud to reopen the Riverside Youth Club, and that so many people have come together to make this happen. It’s amazing how much we can achieve when we all come together with a shared vision and goal to support and invest in our young people - the community, the council and our partners, The Football Foundation, The Millwall Community Trust and others. We’re not just bringing an old building back to life, we are investing in our young people. We have involved them in this project, enabled them to say what they want the space to be used for: to learn new skills, build friendships and to ignite their passion. It is about celebrating our young people and investing in them and in their future”
Riverside Youth Club was opened in 1969 by the legendary boxer Henry Cooper and has been used as a youth club for several decades, offering a safe space for informal learning and activities for young people aged 8 to 18 for over 50 years. It has been closed in recent years due to the poor condition of the existing building.
The opening of a new youth club in Lewisham bucks the national trend of spaces and clubs for young people closing due to lack of funding and investment. It demonstrates Lewisham Council’s commitment to young people and youth services in the borough, and to ensure young people have a dedicated space for them to enjoy with the provision of tailored activities and opportunities.