SE23 Forum

The future of the Livesey Memorial Hall & Sports Grounds is under threat — and we need your help.

This historic community space in Bell Green, immediately adjacent to SE23, has served local people for over 100 years. The current operators lease the Hall itself, and the bowls green and pavilion (currently a boxing club). The new landowner wants to build tall blocks of flats on the rest of the sports grounds—despite their protected status.

Lewisham Council allowed this Asset of Community Value to be sold it off without notification, as required by law.
The listed buildings are crumbling. Our leisure centre is closed. If this goes ahead, we lose vital space for sport, events, and connection.

We’re raising funds for legal action, community outreach, and to form a Community Benefit Society to take back control.

Help us fight back. Donate now. Protect our community’s future.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-bel...ts-grounds

For more information contact bellgreennf@gmail.com, or come to a meeting at 11am on Saturday 7th June at Sydenham Library.

I'm certainly in favour of regenerating the hall and its grounds and it being something of benefit for the community; but by way of feedback, if the Livesey genuinely wants the community to see it as an asset, it needs to treat itself as one: it has no website to advertise itself, and no way of booking it for an event except for a phone number outside - which rang out every time I tried to call when I was looking to hire some local event space. Maybe that's the fault of the current operators, but if so, they also can't be too surprised that there's been little engagement, and little backlash from the community. I live in the Perry Vale area, and whenever I've mentioned the Livesey to neighbours (usually by way of us discussing the Bell Green Barratt development) they're genuinely surprised that it's actually still in use rather than derelict. Even I didn't know it had sports grounds and tennis courts.

I hope if this Crowdfunder is successful that any new a Community Benefit Society works with locals and people with professional experience in running event and community space to properly showcase where it is, what it is, and what the offer will be long term.