The Centre story | Greenhouse Sports

The heart of the community is back once more!

The Greenhouse Centre is more than a building

Standing tall on the corner of Bell and Cosway street – for many in Westminster, it’s a lifeline.

Originally a 17th-century church left empty, it was brought back to life in 2018 and transformed into a thriving hub where young people could play, belong, and believe in themselves. But in 2021, serious structural issues forced us to close.

From Monday 27 April, the heart of the community will be open again, providing a vibrant hub for learning, wellbeing, and connection.

Over the last five years, we’ve worked with heritage and construction experts to save this space. Every beam, window and stone was restored with precision. The roof was rebuilt. Foundations reinforced. Nearly a kilometre of scaffolding was raised.

Through it all, the community remained strong and connected. Sessions were run in borrowed spaces. Coffee mornings provided a space for people to connect and gather. We stayed in touch with the families who make the community what it is.

We’re nearly ready to reopen

As a result, what’s coming back isn’t just a space for young people.

The Centre will be open seven days a week. Through the week, there will be activities, classes and events available to the community we serve, in one of the most deprived wards in the country. From mixed table tennis and badminton sessions to women’s-only yoga classes, from Zumba Gold classes for over-50s to physical sessions for 2–4-year-olds, it truly will be a space for everyone.

Every aspect of what we offer will, like our schools-based work, be underpinned by our evidence-based approach. That means sport and mentoring, grounded in the Greenhouse STEP life skills framework. Coach-Mentors who know each young person by name, programmes designed to improve confidence, resilience, and wellbeing – and a building designed to support not just development – but belonging.

The Greenhouse Centre is where we train our Coach-Mentors. Where we test new ideas. Where community events, youth sessions, and impact meet. It’s also available for event hire – welcoming in new partners, neighbours, and supporters who want to be part of something meaningful.

Soon, the Greenhouse Centre will be ours once again, and we can’t wait to welcome you in. Will we see you in the building?

Queen’s Park and Maida Vale MP shows support for Greenhouse Centre

Georgia Gould, MP for Queen’s Park and Maida Vale, joined Emma Squire (incoming Chief Executive (job-share), Historic England), Cllr Aicha Less (Church Street Ward, Westminster City Council), and representatives from Greenhouse Sports at the Greenhouse Centre, NW1, to see how investment from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Capital Fund (HARCF) is helping bring a London landmark community space back to life.