Brent Council is to close two youth centres and the remaining two will change the services it will offer.
Granville in Anson Road, Cricklewood, and Wembley in London Road, will close for good on Friday, after the town hall failed to find an outside organisation to take over its day-to-day running.
Poplar Grove in Barnhill Road, Wembley, and the borough’s flagship Roundwood myplace Centre in Longstone Avenue, Harlesden, have been saved but some services with be provided by a new provider.
Scores of workers at the centres have been made redundant due to the closures.
The changes are a result of the council slashing £400.000 from its youth services budget as part of £54million worth of cuts.
The news comes a day before the first anniversary of the closure of Stonebridge Adventure Playground.
The centre in Shakespeare Avenue, Stonebridge, was forced out by Brent Council to make way for new homes and the expansion of a primary school next door.
Since Glynis and Doug Lee, both MBE, opened the centre in 1976, it became a salient part in the life of young residents who are living in one of the most economically-deprived wards in the country.
Mrs Lee said: “I’d really like to ask Brent Council what they think young people will do if they continue closing all the community facilities they have relied on for years.
“It’s a complete false economy as trying to save a small amount of money now will cost Brent and society as a whole a lot more in the years to come.
“Shame on them.”
Cllr Ruth Moher, Brent Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, told the Times the council could no longer fund all youth centres and services in the borough due to a cut in government funding.
She added: “We can confirm that Poplar Grove, which is now being managed by Brent River College, will not be closing. There will be preserved access for youth services at evenings and weekends and we hope that the new provider will continue to deliver services from Poplar Grove.
“The flagship Roundwood Centre will remain open, offering activities, programmes and targeted support for vulnerable young people. A number of Youth Service projects will also continue in Brent, including the Right Track Programme, which supports pupils that have been temporarily excluded from school, and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme.”
Related links: Survival battle for three out of the four youth centres run by Brent Council
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