The Plumstead Centre

Ongoing cuts from a conservative government have not stopped us investing in new facilities in Plumstead.

When I became a councillor in 2008 the Speranza Street sports centre was showing its age. Built as a tram shed its role providing indoor sports facilities was always a bit of a compromise. The large hall was good for badminton and five a side football, but the indoor bowling space was hardly used. As the years went by, we got closer to the day when a leaking roof would put the electrics out forever. Staff did their best to fill the side rooms with dance classes but having been built for vehicles it always struggled to deliver for people.

Next door, our library was popular but the majourity of the building was not being used by the public. It had housed part of the borough archives upstairs before the lack of a lift made this untenable. Much of the lower floor was used for the back-office functions of book storage and distribution: a vital task but an underuse of our impressive 1903 Carnegie Library.

Some of my predecessors as Plumstead councillors had not wanted to upset the status quo. I think they were worried that the sports centre might be closed and as councillors their job was to stop this from happening. Greenwich Council (as it then was) was focusing on the three town centres, Woolwich, Eltham and Greenwich, and there was concern that smaller districts like Plumstead would be neglected.

In this context Plumstead councillors (Cllr Angela Cornforth, Cllr Rajinder James and myself) began a series of conversations with the leader of the council, cabinet colleagues and local residents. We wanted to secure the provision of sports activities in Plumstead and bring our library back to its former glory. Our most significant early meeting was with the leader Cllr Denise Hyland and cabinet lead for regeneration Cllr Danny Thorpe. They immediately backed us and a project was born to transform local facilities and invest in Plumstead.

Consultation with residents was followed by the difficult task of securing capital for investment. At one point there was a conversation about scaling the project back to just a refurbishment of the library, but our cabinet colleagues Cllr Denise Scott Macdonald and Cllr Miranda Williams fought hard for the resources to build sports facilities as well. Plumstead councillors reluctantly accepted the sale of the Speranza Street site would be needed to fund the building of new facilities onto the back of our library.

When the project reached cabinet for approval I attended and spoke in favour. Better facilities are what people in Plumstead want and deserve. Architects Hawkins/Brown were engaged to do the planning and approval was granted in 2017, with construction company Osborne starting work shortly after.

Council elections took place in 2018 with one of the candidates standing against us calling the development a white elephant and a waste of money. At one point I spoke with a resident who informed me that the council was knocking the library down. He assured me this was true because he knows “a man who works for the council, and he knows”.

I’m pleased to say the library has not been knocked down and reopened in January of 2020. Our new Plumstead Centre has a library, workstations for study, a café, soft play area, performance and meeting spaces, large and small community rooms for hire and spaces suitable for dance. There is an indoor racket court and a brand-new gym. It’s run by the excellent staff at GLL and I believe it will be extremely popular with residents.

The architects Hawkins/Brown are worthy winners of the Civic Trust Award 2021 for their design, combining heritage with modern needs. Osborne, who are specialists in public sector projects have done a fantastic job. They are a family company who promote good mental health to their workforce. When I visited for the topping out ceremony, I met a local Plumstead man who was working on the project as part of moving on from a period of unemployment.

The reopening was quickly followed by Covid19 lockdowns, but I am sure the Plumstead Centre will be thriving as soon as people are allowed out to visit! I can also report that the site of the former leisure centre will not now be sold, as Cllr Anthony Okereke, our cabinet lead for housing, has confirmed Royal Greenwich will now be building much needed council houses on it.

It has been quite a journey, but I am proud we now have the sports, library and community spaces Plumstead deserves. I look forward to working with partners on the next steps for regeneration in Plumstead.