Dear supporters,

Thank you for standing with us to protect Woolwich Adventure Play Centre and other supervised Adventure Play Centres across Greenwich. Your support has been powerful and deeply appreciated.

On 28 January 2026, Greenwich Council approved a new youth services model, NextGen Greenwich. While the Council states that it engaged with young people and families, this decision does not protect or guarantee the future of fully staffed, supervised Adventure Play Centres, including Woolwich. Instead, it leaves open the risk of centres being downgraded, repurposed, or replaced.

This decision was taken despite thousands of residents signing petitions and raising concerns through consultations, protests, and Council meetings. Unfortunately, community voices have not been reflected in the final outcome.

I am deeply disappointed. Supervised Adventure Play Centres cannot be replaced by generic youth hubs or unstaffed spaces. These centres are vital for children’s and young people’s safety, wellbeing, inclusion, and community cohesion—especially for autistic and disabled children and young people.

Because community concerns continue to be ignored, I am now considering standing as a councillor candidate for Woolwich Dockyard Ward in the May 2026 local elections—most likely as an Independent Socialist candidate in Greenwich. I am being supported by diverse communities in Woolwich, including the Nepalese Alliance, and by the newly formed Your Party, led by former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, which genuinely believes in investing in children, young people, and essential public services, rather than cutting or selling them off. After much reflection, I wanted to share this openly with you.

I have been a Labour Party member for many years and an organiser in Woolwich. However, I have become increasingly disillusioned by the way grassroots concerns—particularly those affecting children, young people, families, and vulnerable communities—are being overlooked. I recently resigned my membership because I no longer felt that the Labour Party currently represents people like me.

This is not about ambition or party politics.
It is about values, accountability, and genuine representation.

In the coming weeks, I will be reaching out to listen—and, if I move forward, to ask for your support.

Woolwich matters.
Our children matter.
And this campaign is not over.

Thank you for standing with our community.

Tom Adhikari
Petitioner – Save Woolwich Adventure Play Centre