TNG youth centre is officially opened

The flagship £3.5m TNG youth centre in Sydenham was officially opened by Sir Steve Bullock on Monday 10 June.

Nearly 200 guests were at the event in Wells Park Road to celebrate the opening of the centre and to see the pivotol role young people played in helping to devise and inspire the youth and community centre.

Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock, Young Mayor of Lewisham Jamel Higgins, Jim Dowd MP and local councillors joined guests from Millwall Community Scheme, Widehorizons, Lightning and Logic and RCKa – the building’s architects – for tours of the new light and airy facility.

The centre now boasts a state-of-the-art recording studio with sound booth and mixing desk, an industry standard training kitchen which will be run as a social enterprise, a health and wellbeing suite, a large performance area complete with sprung floor, an indoor climbing wall and a large outdoor multi-use games area.

Aspiring rapper Remelle King, 17, treated guests to an impromptu rap performance while Ashan Lindo, 18, demonstrated how young people will be able to create their own music using the industry-standard 16 track recording studio.

In the health and wellbeing suite – a dedicated unit with a treatment room and a consulting room – Andrew Ungar, School Nurse Team Leader from NHS Lewisham, spoke to girls about the range of health services that will be on offer which range from sexual health and contraception advice to drug and alcohol awareness.

Veda Nahija, 17, said: “It’s really good that we’ve got this now as young people are often scared to seek advice about personal health and they’ll be able to come here and talk to someone in confidence.”

Young people involved with the Millwall Kickz project demonstrated soccer skills in the new FA standard 7-a-side sports pitch which will also be used for a range of sports including netball and basketball. Dave King from Millwall’s Kickz Project presented Sir Steve and Jamel Higgins with a framed Millwall football shirt for the centre.

After officially unveiling a plaque to mark the opening, Sir Steve Bullock said: “I am blown away by what I’ve seen. This was a ground-breaking scheme that has been four years in the making. Young people had a vision and have been involved throughout to make it a reality. This is their magnificent achievement and they should be very proud. I know I certainly am.”