W4 Youth Reveals Details of Community Hub Plans
Grant from London Freemasons allows further expansion of activities
W4 Youth aims to provide a safe and supportive space for young people
July 13, 2025
Local charity W4 Youth held an open day last Saturday (5 July) at which local residents were invited along to Southfield Recreation Ground to learn more about its activities.
The latest plans for a new Community Hub were revealed. It has been a long term ambition to upgrade the existing facilities at the western end of the park.
The latest design shows a building divided up into three spaces including a café which would have its own entrance and be independently run by a local owner. There would also be a nursery, which would also have a separate entrance as well as a small outdoor garden and be operated by a trusted local provider. In addition, there would be a flexible community space featuring a large, multi-purpose studio for events, classes, and activities; two spacious meeting rooms that double as changing rooms; and modern shower and toilet facilities for everyone using the hub.
This vision is for the Hub to be a heart of community life and W4 Youth says it has already had some great ideas from local people. It would like more people to share their views and is sharing the concept designs online and asking people to complete a survey which should only take 3 to 5 minutes to complete.
The charity was founded by Sally Chacatte after her son was the innocent victim of a gun attack. He was in Year 8 when he was on his way to collect his friend’s football kit from his house after school one Friday evening in January 2009. Someone he didn’t know came up to him and shot him in the face. He survived the attack and shared his mother’s view that one of the root causes of youth crime was a lack of safe and positive spaces for young people. This led to the setting up of W4 Youth which has a missing to provide a location where young people can find support, engage in meaningful activities and build connections to learn, to grow and to thrive to reach their full potential. Everything they offer is completely free to the young people who engage with it.
A visualisation of the proposed Community Hub at Southfield Recreation Ground
Football is at the heart of W4 Youth and the W4 Youth Rangers teams have always been in local competitive leagues since 2009. There are also basketball and other traditional youth club activities as well as a new boxing fitness training club all run from the Hub.
In addition to sports, W4 Youth runs an arts programme from the Church Hall. Street Dance and Musical Theatre are a popular outlet for expression and creativity.
W4 Youth provides its members, aged between 10 and 19, with open access activities all year round. Its members are from all social and ethnic backgrounds and W4 Youth works to improve their health, well-being, social cohesion and employability prospects by engaging them in sports they love, cool and contemporary singing and dance activities, social time with their peers.
A grant of £5,000 from London Freemasons has allowed W4 Youth to add more coaches and activities to support young people in the community, develop a new cohort of trainers through their bespoke Train the Trainer programme and further support a girls’ football training session for their Friday Night Fives community league.
Sally Chacatte (back row) with members of W4 Youth
Previous grants from London Freemasons have allowed the charity to expand the number of coaches and new equipment needed to support more young people.
W4 Youth’s founder Sally Chacatte said, “We are very grateful to London Freemasons for their grant”.
Paul King from London Freemasons said, “We are very pleased to be able to continue supporting the work that W4 Youth are doing within the community to give opportunities to young people, through sports and the arts”.
Complete the survey on the new Community Hub.
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