About Charteris Sports

Short History of Charteris Sports Centre

From around 1880 there was a light industrial factory unit based at 24 Charteris Rd, at its peak in the 1950's  it  was producing electrical metres employing around 200 people. The factory appears to have closed in the 1970's and by 1980 was used as a wood store, which unfortunately caught fire in 1981 destroying most of the building. 

Around this time Brent Council were looking for a suitable site for a community centre in Kilburn and purchased the now derelict site. A Brent Council officer, Vida Pearson was tasked with designing a community sports facility and in 1982  Charteris Community Sports Centre was opened with the aim of providing affordable sports &  fitness facilities for the residents of Kilburn, charging £6 per year for basic membership. Vida was the first woman to manage a sports centre in the UK, she was ably assisted by the head coach Janet Robson and together they created a true community sports centre and community centre. From 1982 till 2010 Charteris was an integral part of Brent's sport and leisure strategy.

However following the budget cuts of 2010, Brent Council were required to reduce its spend on sports and leisure. Charteris as the smallest of the 4 Brent Sports Centres and requiring  a subsidity of around £150K pa was earmarked for closure. The Save Charteris Group (SCG) mounted a vigorous campaign to save the centre and despite the support of local councillors and the London Marathon Charitable Trust the property was put up for auction.

One of the results of the campaign was that property developers who wanted the use the land for residential use were put off from biding, not wanting to take on such a well organised body as the SCG. This left the way open the eventual buyer, an independent School, which brought the building for use as a school gym. As they only needed the building during school hours they offered the SCG a deal whereby the SCG could rent the Centre weekday evenings, weekends and school holidays.

Charteris Community Sports Centre community investment company (CIC) was established in 2012 as a trading company to run Charteris Sports Centre.

Since February 2013 Charteris has once again been making a positive contribution to the health and wellbeing of its many users. 

We estimate our footfall to be over 20,000 per year.

Lloyd