Council officers claim the early opening times at Central Park Community Centre could cause “a significant increase in harmful noise”, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

Central Park Community Centre, East Ham (credit Google)

A community centre volunteer has begged councillors to allow the charity to run an early morning breakfast club.

Central Park Community Centre in East Ham wants to alter conditions on its planning permission to allow it to open as early as 5am, but Newham Council planning officers said this could cause “a significant increase in harmful noise”.

A final decision on the application has yet to be made, following a debate at a council meeting yesterday (Monday 6th).

Volunteer Zain Miah told councillors the earlier opening hours would allow the centre to run a breakfast club for children in food poverty.

He said: “We really need this service in our community.

“In this borough at the moment I do not see much facilities for our generation. The food poverty line in this borough is terrible. Especially looking at Newham, our children that face deprivation through food inequality.

“This is what we’re trying to provide, this service, to the community.”

The community centre was first granted planning permission to open, at 296 High Street South, in 2019. But its planning approval currently restricts its opening hours to 8am-11pm Mondays to Saturdays, and 9am-10pm on Sundays and bank holidays.

It applied in July to amend these hours to 4am-11pm seven days a week, including bank holidays.

Charity managers told the council this was to allow it to run morning exercise sessions and a breakfast club, with the 4am start allowing for the delivery and preparation of food.

But council planning officers said this could be too noisy for people living nearby. They recommended that councillors refuse the application.

Their report to councillors said: “The proposed extended operating hours would result in a significant increase in harmful noise and disturbance to adjacent and nearby residential occupants.”

Councillors debated the proposals at Monday’s local development committee meeting.

Labour councillor Larisa Zilickaja said she supported the earlier opening hours. She said: “I work as a teacher in a school and I know that for many children their only opportunity to have lunch is in school.”

Cllr Zilickaja said the community centre organisers were “doing their best to support vulnerable residents”.

Newham Independents councillor Mehmood Mirza also spoke in support. He said: “The breakfast club is a very good initiative.

“We need to encourage, to have more community spaces.”

At the meeting, the applicant’s agent said the community centre was willing to alter its application to a 5am start, not including bank holidays.

Planning officers also said that the restriction only applied to hours when the centre would be open to the pubilc – so didn’t need to include delivery times.

But the committee voted to reject officers’ recommendation to refuse permission. It means the application will be returned to planning officers to continue talks with the community centre, and be presented again to a future committee meeting.

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