A grant-maker that supports young people is urging Ealing Council to rethink plans to demolish one of only three youth centres in the borough.
The John Lyon’s Charity said it had reached out to the local authority and asked it to consider the devastating effect on the community if the Young Adult Centre in Southall were lost for good.
The charity said the YAC had been a safe space and community to many young people in Ealing since the 1980s, but was at risk of permanent closure because the council planned to redevelop the site for housing.
The charity pledged to work with the council and other funders in an attempt to keep it as a thriving community hub.
It warned that the youth centre’s closure would affect a demographic who were already deprived of recreational safe spaces because two youth centres had closed in Ealing in the past 10 years.
Lynne Guyton, chief executive of John Lyon’s Charity, said: “The YAC has been a safe space and community to many young people in Ealing, yet the youth club is now at risk of permanent closure.
“We refuse to sit back and let this happen and urge Ealing Council to reconsider its decision to demolish the YAC. We welcome them to work with John Lyon’s Charity and other funders to keep it as a thriving community hub.”
A petition to save the youth club on Ealing Council’s website has gained more than 500 signatures.
The council did not provide a comment before publication of this story.