Mayor opens new sports facility for young people in Hackney Wick
Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville has today (17 February) opened a multi-use sports facility for young people in Hackney Wick, which will address the lack of activities and sporting opportunities for young people in the area and support the Council’s ambitions for a fair recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Managed by Young Hackney, the Council’s early help service for people aged between 6 and 19 (or up to 25 for people with special education needs and/or disabilities), the Eastway facility was developed in close collaboration with local young people as part of the Council’s response to findings in the ‘Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes’ report. This identified a lack of places and good quality facilities for them to engage in youth activities, stay active, and participate in sport.
From the design and planning process to the naming of the facility, young people from the local area have been involved in every aspect of the project. The venue includes a multi-use games area, a studio and classroom for fitness and learning events, a courtyard which will be used as a reflective space and for other activities in the future, and an office. It is located on part of the site of the former Eastway Baths and will be free to use and open after school during term time and throughout the day in the school holidays.
A programme of activities will be delivered by Young Hackney and local community organisations who will use the facility, with the aim of using sport and physical activity as a route to future success. This focuses on four key themes: ‘active every day’; ‘social integration and equality’; ‘aspiring and achieving’ and ‘youth participation and voice’. The space has been adapted to offer a range of activities, from practising yoga to film screenings, gardening or just relaxing on a covered bench and socialising between activities. It has also been sustainably designed, with the classroom and community spaces made of cross-laminated timber and a solar photovoltaic panel installed on top.
The Council will be looking to actively engage with community focused organisations in the future to animate the space. The initiative to develop the facility forms part of the Wick Workspaces programme to deliver affordable workspace for local businesses and affordable community space for local residents and community groups.
Hackney Wick has gone through a significant period of transition over the decade since the Olympics and as the pace of change shows no signs of slowing down, it is imperative, especially in this 10th anniversary year, the Council listens to local young people, responds to their needs, and ensures local people in the community are better able to benefit from these changes and not left behind.
The launch of Eastway reaffirms the Council’s commitment to using our assets in the area to invest in the community and utilising sport to bring about positive change for young people. Working closely with community partners, Young Hackney will use sport and physical activity to support young people’s personal and social development, as well as their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Thank you to all those involved in the original report and campaign, including local councillors, and those who shaped the design, this new facility wouldn’t have been possible without you. We are also grateful to our partners at the Greater London Authority and London Legacy Development Corporation for helping to bring this fantastic facility to fruition.
Funding for the £850,000 facility was secured from a range of internal and external sources, including the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund and London Legacy Development Corporation’s Neighbourhood Priorities Fund.
This is a fantastic project that will benefit young people in Hackney and I am really pleased that funding from LLDC’s Neighbourhood Priorities Fund and Community Infrastructure Levy has played a crucial role in making it possible.
It demonstrates our commitment to ensuring those living in and around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park benefit from the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of that incredible summer in 2012 our work to deliver the legacy continues.
Hackney Council has planning permission to operate the facility for the first six years and will seek to extend this once Young Hackney Eastway has fully embedded itself in the community.
To find out more visit https://hackney.gov.uk/eastway