Guest post by Cllr Suzanne Gallagher
This week, Brent Council’s new four-year corporate strategy,
Believe in Brent (2026–2030), came before the Cabinet on Monday (9
November), ahead of going to Full Council next week for final sign-off.
At the heart of the new plan is Priority 1: "A
Borough to Be Proud Of," which promises to make Brent the best place
to live, work, and build a future, underpinned by safe, welcoming, and vibrant
neighbourhoods. Turn to page 37 of the Cabinet agenda pack, under the heading Healthy,
active communities, and the written commitments are impossible to fault:
● "Every
resident can enjoy parks, playgrounds and leisure facilities close to home that
are safe, welcoming and vibrant spaces to play, exercise and spend time
outdoors."
● "Everyone
can access affordable opportunities to be active, regardless of their age,
background or income."
● "Work
with communities where health outcomes are poorer... to reduce health
inequalities and make it easier to get the right support early."
● "Work
with partners to encourage more residents to be active, improve their health
and wellbeing and live independent lives."
● "Improve
access to affordable physical activity opportunities, particularly for children
and young people."
On paper, it reads like a blueprint for thriving youth and
community provision. Yet the lived reality for hundreds of Brent residents
right now could not be more different.
The Community Fightback at Willesden Sports Centre
At the exact moment Cabinet members were taking turns
praising their new strategy on Monday morning, local families, athletes, and
coaches were desperate to stop Brent Council from ripping out the indoor
athletics track at Willesden Sports Centre.
The very same day, the Council had planned to begin works to
uplift one of only five indoor athletics tracks of its kind in the whole of
London to replace it with a commercial gym extension.
This decision poses an existential threat to the winter
provision of Track Academy, an extraordinary Brent charity founded in
2007 by former international triple jumper Connie Henry MBE that uses the
indoor track three times a week to support hundreds of young people aged 5 to
23.
For around 500 young people every week in the colder and
wetter months, that indoor track is far more than a running lane. As coaches,
parents, and young runners told Clkr Mary Mitchell, Cllr Amandine Alexandre and
me when we visited the centre on Saturday, athletics is the hook that brings
hard-to-reach young people through the door. Once inside, they receive
mentorship, educational support, and a safe, screen-free sanctuary during dark
winter nights that keeps teenagers off their phones, supports injury
rehabilitation, and boosts their mental health. Older residents, women, and
adults with learning disabilities also rely on the space to stay active side by
side.
What Cabinet Members Said on Monday vs. The Lived
Reality in Willesden
Listening back to what Cabinet members actually said when
presenting Believe in Brent on Monday makes the decision to close
Willesden’s indoor track look even more irrational and contradictory.
During the discussion, Deputy Leader Cllr Gwen Grahl praised
the plan by saying:
"It's so resident focused. We're trying to and
endeavouring to deliver on what not only the residents have communicated to us,
but also making sure that everything is with them in mind... This is a document
that really showcases how each and every member of our borough can thrive
through intentional investment, through the intentionality of the policies and
the work that is going on behind the scenes."
If the Council’s "behind the scenes" work is truly
so resident-focused, why were Track Academy, Queens Park Harriers, parents, and
young athletes completely sidelined without proper consultation before the
decision to scrap their indoor track was taken? In fact, an Equality Impact
Assessment was only carried out after the community demanded one, and
even the Council has had to admit that the proposed replacement hall is not a
like-for-like facility.
Even more striking were the remarks from Cllr Liz Dixon,
Cabinet Member for Public Health and Community Safety, the very portfolio
overseeing the Willesden Sports Centre redesign. Speaking on the new Council
Plan on Monday, Cllr Dixon told the chamber:
"The truth is when you travel sometimes from the
north to the south of the borough, the diversity or the differences are very
stark and there are major inequalities. I think everything we're doing as a
council to address that, so that we are more inclusive, is really helpful.
Everything in here and the way that we're dealing with public health and
community safety, it's ticking all the boxes. Everything we're doing is around
the health and the well-being of residents, which is critical as the years go
ahead."
How can closing Willesden’s indoor track possibly be
described as "ticking all the boxes" on public health and inclusion?
Willesden sits in the south of the borough where health inequalities are acute,
and the Council’s own Equality Impact Assessment explicitly admits that closing
the indoor track will have an adverse impact on girls, disabled young
people, ethnically diverse communities, and low-income families. Pursuing a
commercially driven gym expansion at the direct expense of those groups does
not reduce inequalities, it deepens them.
Meanwhile, Cllr Matt Kelcher rightly highlighted the
link between environment, physical health, and mental wellbeing, noting that "happiness
as a central focus is something I'm really pleased about," while
Cabinet colleagues spoke at length about "taking action to tackle
health inequalities" and working to "improve every child in
Brent's start in life."
Closing the debate, the Leader of the Council
Councillor Butt emphasised the importance of supporting young people and
protecting community assets:
"Everyone wants to feel safe in their locality, in
their home, in their area. And also have places and spaces which are
thriving... We need to make sure we are creating places and spaces where people
want to remain in Brent."
I could not agree more. Track Academy is a prime example of
a thriving space that gives young people in Brent hope, ambition, discipline,
and mentorship. You do not create "places and spaces where people want
to remain in Brent" by tearing out a rare London-wide youth asset that
already works.
A Week for Reflection Before Full Council
Nobody disputes that Willesden Sports Centre needs
investment and modernisation. But rather than destroying a unique indoor track,
the Council should be going back to the drawing board, working with Track
Academy, Queens Park Harriers, and neighbouring boroughs like Camden and
Westminster to promote and enhance this facility.
Over 1,100 people have already signed Track Academy’s
petition calling on Brent Council to halt the closure.
Between now and next week’s Full Council meeting, where Believe
in Brent will be put to a vote, I hope Cabinet members take the time to
reflect carefully on the words they spoke on Monday morning. If they truly
believe that everything they do is about "the health and well-being of
residents," tackling "stark inequalities," and protecting
"places and spaces which are thriving," then they must match their
words with their deeds, and save the indoor athletics track at Willesden Sports
Centre
Sign Track Academy’s petition and write to your
councillor here: https://trackacademy.co.uk/protect-brent-athletics
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