On 27 January, Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, visited Brentford Football Club's community activities and saw "great vision for a club at the heart of its community". He visited the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust and the Griffin Park Learning Zone and called in at the proposed site for the new Brentford Community Stadium at Lionel Road. The visit was arranged by Brentford and Isleworth MP and Health Minister, Ann Keen, who accompanied the Secretary of State.
Brentford FC Community Sports Trust
In a two hour visit, the party's first port of call was the Community Sports Trust offices where they met the Trust's Chairman, Ian Dobie; Chief Executive, Lee Doyle; Vice Chair, Professor Steve Hodkinson; and General Manager, Luke Skelhorn. Also present were Donald Kerr, representing the boards of Bees United and Brentford FC; Brian Burgess, who is leading work on the Brentford Community Stadium; Simon Lister, Director of Pro-Active West London; and local resident, Bela Cunha.
The work of the Trust in the local community was showcased in two DVDs produced by Communications Manager, Paul Skelhorn, the second of which focused on the work being undertaken by the Trust to establish a strong Olympic legacy around the 2012 London Games.
Since converting to a multi-sports charity in 2005, the scope and depth of work undertaken by the Trust has expanded significantly, with 28 full-time and a further 50 part-time staff employed. This has created a staggering 149,000 sports participations each year across 15 sports to young people in four London Boroughs. The Secretary of State and Health Minister were impressed by the ability to deliver sports to the community irrespective of the social background of individuals and were delighted to hear from the Trust's Disabilities Officer, Pete Shears, about the growing range of activities for people of all ages with disabilities.
Brentford Boating Club
In an arch beneath Kew Bridge, the visitors were able to see, first hand, some of the Community Sports Trust's work taking place. The project – funded by St George West London with support from the B&Q awards and London Marathon Trust – is an example of the private, public and voluntary sectors working together to regenerate a disused building and offer a wide range of boating activities. The Community Sports Trust has also partnered Thames Explorers to provide an educational programme linked to the Thames for schools and community groups.
Lionel Road
At a whistle-stop pause in Lionel Road, Brian Burgess explained the community-focused proposals to regenerate this industrial site by relocating the Football Club into a modern 20,000 seat stadium together with related leisure and community facilities. Discussions are currently taking place with Hounslow Council to include a replacement for the Fountains Leisure Centre and with the local Primary Care Trust, NHS Hounslow, about including a new Health Centre. These proposals are being developed in partnership with Barratt Homes Ltd and would complement other projects to regenerate the nearby Brentford Town Centre.
Griffin Park Learning Zone
The final stop was to the Griffin Park Learning Zone where Jo Emmerson, the London Borough of Hounslow Study Support Manager, explained the work undertaken by her team as a fusion of football and education, and a creative hub of ideas and innovative approaches to learning. The GPLZ is almost five years old and has developed the range of its activities with each successive year. In 2008 it catered for 2,300 of Hounslow's young people aged from 8 to 18 years; offering them the opportunity to build self-esteem and motivation and encouraging independent learning which ultimately impacts on their attainment.
The team were also joined by Karen Adams and Michelle Rooney from Parents in Touch, a local voluntary group which provides support to children with disabilities and their families.
One Brentford
To provide a final overview, the visitors enjoyed a DVD entitled "One Brentford" which further emphasises the connections between all the elements that form part of Brentford Football Club, including the Supporters Trust, Bees United, which owns the 60% majority shareholding in the Club (see https://www.beesunited.org.uk/content/view/397/).
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham said: "It was great to see first-hand the excellent work going on in community sport in Brentford. The strong partnerships between Brentford FC, Bees United, the Community Sports Trust and Griffin Park Learning Zone have been key to the area's success in pushing sports participation up. This can help us deliver a strong legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The stadium project shows great vision for a club at the heart of its community. I have pledged to do whatever I can to help move it forward."
Ann Keen, MP for Brentford and Isleworth said: "This visit came about as a result of my Gunnersbury Park campaign. Seeing all the good things the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust does, and the club's plans for a new stadium not far from the park, I thought the obvious thing to do was to look at how we can join the two up."
She added: "I wanted the Secretary of State to come and see what the Trust is doing and get an idea of how local parks can be used for the benefit of the whole community; we were all very excited by the possibilities this presented and I know Andy left very impressed by what the Trust has been doing."
Pictured below is Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Andy Burnham with the GPLZ's Jo Emmerson.
