Say no to ripping the heart out of the Holly Lodge community

Cllr Maya de Souza and I visited the Holly Lodge Community Centre last week to hear firsthand about the extraordinary range of activities that take place there. From art classes to meditation, from film-making workshops to laundry services, from luncheon clubs to internet access - the community centre is widely used by all age groups and is a critical pillar of the Holly Lodge community.

Yet Labour-led Camden Council is proposing to slash its funding, which could force it to close. I condemn this unreservedly.

The Holly Lodge estate is an excellent example of a successful mixed tenure estate with low rise blocks, green spaces, communal facilities and a strong neighbourhood spirit. We should seek to replicate this model of how to make community work, not rip its heart out.

Brighton & Hove Council, which is run by the Greens, isn’t cutting community centres, libraries and youth services. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The council will be discussing the funding for Holly Lodge Community Centre at 7pm on Wednesday 7th September at Camden Town Hall. I urge everyone who can to attend this meeting and to register your concern in the strongest terms possible.

When we lose our community we have nothing left.