The Curve

The Curve has closed

The Curve Community Centre is now permanently closed following consultation with the North Kensington community.

Curve staff are continuing to work in North Kensington based voluntary and community organisations and are engaging with residents, service providers and partner organisations to address needs and signpost to opportunities.

Curve legacy

The Curve Community Centre in Bard Road is now permanently closed. All organisations who were based there are being supported with alternative accommodation, and additional funding being made available for community-led events.

After a number of conversations with the Curve Board of Governors, residents who have expressed an interest in being part of the Curve Legacy working group, and wider community members, there is a collective consensus that the remaining £1.3m Curve budget is used to support those most affected by the Grenfell tragedy. This view is consistent with a community conversation that was held with the North Kensington community last year by an independent organisation on behalf of the Council. Its aim was to hear the community’s aspirations for the future of The Curve.

The community conversation asked how the community wanted The Curve’s remaining £1.3m budget to be spent. Residents chose a Curve Legacy Fund to be set up from the remaining budget, as well as an independent Community Trust to oversee the budget.

View the 'Let's talk about The Curve' report.

Grenfell-affected residents will now get to decide how a new Curve Legacy Fund, designed to fund projects that serve the North Kensington community, will be spent. 

Residents’ working group and independent Community Trust

We have been working to establish a residents’ working group which will appoint the new independent Community Trust / Organisation. This Trust will oversee the remaining £1.3m Curve budget. The new Community Trust will be made up of members of the North Kensington community.

We held several informal discussions with residents who expressed an interest in joining the working group in summer 2022 where we provided information about the role. We also extended the deadline for sign-ups to the working group at the request of residents to ensure the group was inclusive of the North Kensington community.

We now have a core group of local residents who have expressed an interest in sitting on the working group and held our first full meetings on Wednesday 12 October and Wednesday 19 October 2022.

During these meetings, residents discussed having independent facilitation (independent chair and minute taker) to help the group undertake its role and work with the Council. They also discussed the need for defining the group’s purpose, creating Terms of Reference as well as how they can involve young people and the wider community in their decision-making processes.

The group agreed that meetings should be monthly and that communicating their work with the North Kensington community is crucial. The next meeting is expected to take place on 23 November 2022.

If you would like to find out more, please email [email protected] or call 07814362320.

How we are helping Curve-based organisations

We have been working closely and sensitively with organisations who were based at The Curve to understand both their needs and the needs of their service users so we can collectively best find solutions that will enable services to continue. The support has included accommodation and also recognising the importance of familiarity for the service users.

This work started at the beginning of the year  and we will continue to support these organisations. A nine-month transition plan that includes financial assistance and advice for them to run their programmes at alternative locations, fundraising support and access to organisational development guidance has been put in place.

We have ensured all alternative locations are as close as possible to The Curve to make it easy for residents to travel to and from. 

Youth and sports provision previously delivered from The Curve have now moved to Fit for Life Youth HQ at 151 Freston Road.

This includes:

• Kidzbox with Tyrone
• Salsa with Antonio
• Zumba with Ana
• Fit for Life fitness classes
• Albanian Dance Youth Group sessions
• Jaguar Taekwondo

You can view the timetable online or request it by emailing [email protected].

The following services who were based at The Curve will be operating from The SPACE, 214 Freston Road:

• Fouzia’s Sewing Class
• Dehlia’s Healthy Cooking

The remaining services who were based at The Curve are term-time providers and will resume their activities in September 2022. Details of their new locations will be added to this web page. 

North Kensington community organisations

There are also lots of other North Kensington community organisations and spaces offering different facilities and service for local residents. We have listed them on this page:

• SPACE (214 Freston Road, W10) - The SPACE is a community-led health and wellbeing hub that offers a variety of services to Grenfell-affected communities including food support, a baby bank, a holistic wellbeing programme and more.  Contact the SPACE at [email protected] or on 0800 047 8161.
• Fit for Life Youth (151 Freston Road, W10) - FFLY provides educational and sports programmes for the North Kensington community. As well as delivering sports coaching for children, young people and adults, FFLY operate a gym and deliver sports coaching qualifications for young adults. Contact FFLY at [email protected] or on 07949 162082.
• The Harrow Club (187 Freston Road, W10) - The Harrow Clun works with children and families and provides a range of youth club activities and programmes to support, entertain and develop the life skills of local youths. Contact Harrow Club at [email protected] or on 020 8969 2528. 
• Rugby Portobello Trust (221 Walmer Road, W11) - RPT is a charity that supports children, youth and families through educational, sport, arts and music projects as well as employment programmes and mental health support. Contact RPT at [email protected] or on 020 7229 2928.
• Bay20 (71 St Mark’s Road, W10) - is a community space that provides spaces for local people as well as a community café. Contact Bay20 at [email protected] or on 020 3579 0384.  
• The ClementJames Centre (95 Sirdar Road, W11) - The centre provides a range of support to local residents including employment support, educational support for children and young people, functional skills courses for adults, and wellbeing and advice. Contact ClementJames at [email protected] or on 020 7221 8810. 
• Dalgarno Community Centre (Dalgarno Way, W10) - Dalgarno is a community centre that runs projects and services promoting health, wellbeing and inclusion. Activities include health and wellbeing programmes, community champions, volunteering opportunities and a community foodbank, as well as fitness and music classes. Contact Dalgarno at [email protected] or on 020 8969 6300. 
• Lancaster Youth Hub (128 Lancaster Road, W11) - Lancaster is a fully integrated youth club that runs a programme of activities aged 13 to 19 or up to 25 if they have a disability or are care leavers. The club programme includes open access nights as well as music production sessions, arts and crafts, cooking classes and accessibility nights designed for young people with additional needs.  Contact the Youth Hub Coordinator on 07890 604817.
• Canalside Activity Centre (Canal Close, W10) - Canalside is a water sports site that offers activities for children and young people aged 8 to 18, including kayaking, canoeing, wall climbing, and after-school multi-sport coaching sessions. The Youth Club runs at Canalside on Wednesdays from 5 to 6pm. Kayaking is Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4.30 to 7pm. Contact John Kain at [email protected] for more details.

New funding for North Ken community projects 

We recognise the importance of communities being able to organise events of cultural significance as well as events that commemorate the Grenfell tragedy. Therefore, we are making funding available to North Kensington communities to lead and organise events. These can be:

• cultural events
• events that raise awareness of issues that affect the community 
• events that pay respect or honour bereaved and survivors of the Grenfell tragedy 
• events that bring communities together for collective reflection. 

A number of these events were previously held at The Curve Community Centre. The Council will continue to support events that bring communities together, celebrate diversity and are organised in a way that is inclusive.

Who can apply:

• a not-for-profit organisation based in North Kensington
• an individual affiliated to a registered group in North Kensington

What we can fund:

• costs of venue hire and other related event costs 
• refreshments for consumption at the event
• small items of expenditure for activities 
• any other reasonable expenditure directly relating to the activity
• Applicants may be asked to present a breakdown of costs. 

What the fund will not pay for:

• private events e.g. birthdays, christenings, graduation
• events or activities that are already being funded through other Grenfell funding programmes 
• political events or campaigning
• profit-making or fundraising activities
• running costs including salaries
• transportation costs, storage or delivery fees

How much can I apply for?

• the maximum amount is £1,500

How to apply:

To request an application form please email [email protected] or call Sami on 07739 314338.

Anyone interested in planning and delivering an event should contact [email protected] or call Sami on 07739 314338 for more information.