Save Our Alton Activity Centre

“We call on Wandsworth Council to maintain the vital services provided to children and their families from the Alton Activity Centre, Ellisfield Drive”

Wandsworth Borough Council has plans not to renew the Alton Activity Centre contract. The Alton Activity Centre is in the heart of the Alton Estate regeneration area. The Council is looking to close the facilities of the community they say they want to 'regenerate': how many more community facilities will the Council destroy in the area?

The Alton Activity Centre is on a prime piece of land immediately next to the demolition zone in the Alton Estate regeneration area. It has buildings and facilities for the area's children, and the services there are run by the charity Spurgeon's. Their contract ceases from April this year, and the Council will not renew it. A gigantic assumption is made that the services run by Spurgeon's will be provided by local schools, with no firm undertaking that anything will in fact be provided. Due to the fact that the Alton is being considered a deprived area the developers do not have to invest in any provision of community facilities, as they are offered an incentive to develop the area without having to pay any community infrastructure levy.

One of the few Community facilities is The Alton Activity Centre, an open-access centre that provides a range of play activities for children and young people after school. This centre is for children aged 5-13 years. Their service provides a place where children and young people can play together and make friends in a safe, staffed environment; parents and carers can meet one another; new skills can be learned; and children and young people can make use of a multi-sensory room.

Please HELP us to save the Alton Activity Centre!