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![\"London](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Untitled-design-1-e1749297433790.png\" "\\"London")
<\/p>\nThe London Roller Derby could be left homeless after Brent Council approved plans to close an historic community and leisure centre at the end of next month.<\/p>\n
The local authority said the decision was taken \u201cwith regret\u201d but claimed repairing the existing building would be too costly and its current state poses a \u201chigh risk of failure of vital equipment\u201d.<\/p>\n
The closure of Bridge Park Community Centre has been set for July 31 after plans were given the green light at the latest meeting of Brent Council\u2019s Cabinet on Monday (June 16) \u2013 subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.<\/p>\n
Last year, the council announced that the site would be redeveloped as part of a wider \u00a3600m investment in the area, which includes homes, a hotel, park, and the new leisure centre.<\/p>\n
Bridge Park was once the largest Black-led community enterprise in Europe, where it was home to business units, workshops, a sports hall and a theatre. However, the council has said that much of the centre is now \u201cwell beyond its expected life\u201d and the risk of vital equipment failing \u201cincreases daily\u201d.<\/p>\n
When the plans were first proposed in 2024, the Harlesden People\u2019s Community Council (HPCC) launched the Save Bridge Park campaign, with an attempt to have the site added to the National Heritage List for England. The group is hoping to secure the necessary funding \u201cto preserve the facility\u201d and keep it as a \u201cvital resource for [the] community\u201d.<\/p>\n
Historic England will review the application and compile a report for the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, to consider with a decision expected to be made this summer.<\/p>\n
HPCC member, Delaney Brown, said the claims that Bridge Park is not fit for purpose \u201coverlooks its potential for renovation and modernisation\u201d rather than demolition, and the structure \u201crepresents far more than its physical form; it is a testament to community-led resilience and progress\u201d.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just the centre\u2019s historical significance that has galvanised support for its restoration rather than demolition, either. Bridge Park is still providing facilities for community-focused organisations in the area and beyond. Most notably the London Roller Derby, a group which is \u201ccommitted to empowering women, non-marginalised genders, and the LGBTQ+ community\u201d through sport.<\/p>\n
London Roller Derby has trained at Bridge Park every Sunday and Thursday for the last 20 years. Speaking to the Cabinet using her roller derby \u2018alter ego\u2019 Vengeance, one member of the team had outlined their support for the Save Bridge Park campaign and urged councillors to vote against the plan.<\/p>\n
Formed in 2006, London Roller Derby was the UK\u2019s first roller derby league and has been the \u201cdriving force\u201d for growing its popularity across the UK and Europe, according to Vengeance. She told the Cabinet that there are \u201cworld class athletes on your doorstep\u201d, with skaters at the centre making up more than half of Team England, as well as players representing other countries including Scotland, Wales, West Indies, Finland, France, Greece, Spain and South Africa.<\/p>\n
Vengeance said: \u201cThis is how fantastic our skaters are. We are going to be training our hearts out until the World Cup in July. Until you shut the doors, we are going to be training our hearts out in Bridge Park.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the agreement to close Bridge Park in July, the council\u2019s timeline suggests that work on the new leisure centre would not commence until September 2027 and only expected to open in 2030. Vengeance said the main problem is the lack of alternative training spaces and without the council\u2019s help finding somewhere the team \u201care homeless\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cPartly [the lack of alternative space] is why we have stayed loyal to Bridge Park, despite the fact that the price went up, we were left with freezing temperatures because of the broken heating system, and flooded halls when it rains meaning we can\u2019t skate at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whilst the council had the option of keeping the centre open longer, it ultimately felt that the \u201cbenefits of closure\u201d will mean it will avoid additional costs for operating it with low usage numbers and avoid the \u201clikelihood of emergency closures\u201d.<\/p>\n
In 2024\/25, Bridge Park generated nearly \u00a3500,000 less than anticipated, according to council figures, and the local authority doesn\u2019t feel increasing fees and charges would plug this gap.<\/p>\n
Brent Council\u2019s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Leisure, Cllr Neil Nerva, claimed that the council wants to work with the roller derby team \u201cto ensure that there is an opportunity\u201d to continue training at an alternative venue but suggested that the issues with the cold and flooding at the centre is why a new facility is needed.<\/p>\n
Cllr Nerva said: \u201cBridge Park cannot go on as it is. [\u2026] the building is not in good condition and it isn\u2019t a question of \u2018do we need to repair or completely rebuild?\u2019 The repair option is not really good value but it\u2019s also questionable whether it could even be achieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the short term, it is with regret that we have to close a facility at Bridge Park but in the long term it is about creating a new facility that is linked with the wider Hillside Corridor. [\u2026] Everybody wants to see a new sports facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been very specific comments made about the heritage of the site, in terms of its significance for people of colour in the Stonebridge area and that is why we want to ensure that between now and the opening \u2013 and even after the opening \u2013 that there is engagement and physical recognition of what Bridge Park has meant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cabinet Member for Housing and Residents Services, Cllr Flue Donnelly-Jackson, added that the council \u201cvalue the history and heritage\u201d of the site and are keen to \u201cmake sure the history is commemorated\u201d at the new development. She advised that the plaque on the current community leisure centre that marks the achievements of the late Leonard Johnson \u2013 the driving force behind the original centre \u2013 will be retained.<\/p>\n
In terms of additional facilities, council documents show that the new leisure centre will provide a six-lane swimming pool, a 100-station gym \u2013 up from 39 stations \u2013 an activity space for soft play and a climbing wall, three exercise studios \u2013 up from one \u2013 a new cafe, a wet changing village, and a new adult education provision. However, it will see the reduction of a five-court sports hall down to four and the loss of commercial space.<\/p>\n
If the plan gets the go ahead from Lisa Nandy later this summer, the council has outlined the timetable for the project, which includes completing the designs by October of this year before formally submitting a planning application in November. It is expected that this will be decided on by October 2026, with work commencing on site in September 2027.<\/p>\n
Council Leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, said: \u201cIt is always a tough decision for any landlord when they have to take a look at their assets and make decisions, even around a temporary closure, because the impact will always be on some of the users. We know there are people who value the space that they have there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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