The Community Sports Hub at the Black Prince Trust has been in existence since 2005 but the Black Prince Trust (the ‘Trust’) itself was not established until 2011.

The formation of the Trust enabled Lambeth Council to grant the Trust a lease of the site for 125 years at a peppercorn rent on the understanding that it is a long-term community asset. The site sits at the heart of the Ethelred Estate in Vauxhall which is home to close to 4000 residents.

The Community Sports Hub was created after the Lilian Baylis School moved out of its grounds into a new school in 2004. The school was designated as a listed building so it could not be either sold or demolished – as a result the vast site was left empty, unused and locked up from the local community. Furthermore, it stood at the centre of an area blighted by gang problems and criminal activity, health and social issues and long-term unemployment.

In 2005, a successful year-long campaign by local residents and community groups saw the site opened up for community use in cooperation with Lambeth Council. Today, it stands as an inter-generational community hub that hosts sports sessions, mentoring and employment schemes for hundreds of local people.