Friday Night Youth Club, which runs out of the MyPlace community centre in Dagnam Park Drive, was temporarily suspended by Havering Council in November 2024 – and has not been able to reopen since.
The closure was down to two separate incidents outside MyPlace involving alcohol and a firework set off in a bin, one of the club’s organisers Russell Mears told the Recorder.
But Russell claimed the council also promised the club a paid-for youth worker as part of an agreement made in April 2024, something which has not materialised.
“[The incidents] were outside the youth club and with people we weren’t supervising, but Havering [Council] said because of these incidents we are going to have to suspend you,” Russell told the Recorder.
“We reminded them that they had promised us someone to help us.”
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For four years, Russell, the director of a pharmaceutical company, and his wife Claire, a learning support assistant at a secondary school, have been running the youth club in their free time.
The couple estimate that they have delivered “over 1,000 hours of youth work” on a voluntary basis and secured “over £30,000 of activities” for the children of Harold Hill through their network.
This includes leadership courses, sailing and caving activities, and residential trips in Wales.
Russell said: “Our members were really keen that we started up again, because there’s nothing else going on for them in that area.
“One of the kids who we took to Wales said it was their first time outside of Harold Hill.
“They really enjoy going [to youth club] – it is a safe place to hang.”
The young members – aged between 11 and 18 – made a YouTube video last month asking the public to “help us save” the club, and explaining what it means to them.
One member said in the video: “Friday Night Youth Club is really special to me because I can talk about me feelings to everyone there and can socialise with my friends every Friday.
“I’ve missed the club so much since it’s been gone, so hopefully we can get it reopened soon.”
Russell said the children made the video “off their own back” and that he was “in tears” when he saw it.
Despite a recent meeting with Havering Council, Russell and Claire say they have been given no target reopening date for the club – and claimed they were “consistently stonewalled” when pressing for a timeline.
“This uncertainty leaves our members without a dedicated space on Friday nights,” Russell told this paper.
“As far as we know, many are now spending time on the streets of Harold Hill, an unsafe environment for them, whilst MyPlace on a Friday night is empty.”
Friday Night Youth Club has also been in talks with Hornchurch and Upminster MP Julia Lopez about its suspension.
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She said the young people who go to the club told her of “their bitter disappointment” at the closure, which she then reported to senior officers at the council.
Ms Lopez added: “The current situation is incredibly disappointing.
“I will continue to engage with both Russell and the council in the hope that we can find a solution to the council’s concerns so that the Friday Night Youth Club members may have their club back.”
These concerns from the council are that the club “complies with safeguarding requirements”.
A Havering Council spokesperson told the Recorder: “The local authority has met with the youth club organisers to discuss a safe and efficient reopening plan, and we are hopeful that an opening date can be agreed upon in the coming weeks.
“While we understand that the young people who attend the session are disappointed by the temporary closure, we are doing everything we can to reopen it while ensuring safety for all.
“Once the safeguarding policies and risks assessments are in place, including having a third member of staff to ensure a safe ratio of adults to young people, we can look to reopen the club.”
