A Brief History of Docklands

Docklands has been supporting the community for almost 100 years!

The Docklands Settlements were a network of amenity centres in deprived areas of London. Soon after, other settlements were made outside of London and Docklands Centre in St. Pauls was founded in 1927. Throughout the years, the centre was used as an open access space for sports like boxing as well as hosting a variety of music events. The centre was formally a youth centre, offering all young people a space to try out new activities and opportunities.

In 2020 we undertook a £100,00 refurbishment through funding. This refreshed the space, making it more welcoming and giving it a new lease of life. The youth made great use of the centre with Full Circle's Summer programme in 2021 and our public bookings are increasing every month. We are hoping to carry on supporting the community and offering bookings to the growing local organisations.

Docklands is now managed by Aspiration, Creation, Elevation (ACE) and Full Circle following a community asset transfer in 2014 led by Darren Alexander from ACE and Delroy Hibbert. We continue to provide space for community groups, sports clubs, small businesses and other charities. We plan to build up revenue streams from renting out the building at affordable prices to make the entire operation self-sustaining by 2026.

Our rich history is depicted in our striking timeline mural by local young artist Nicholas Ogri, which can be seen in the corridor (pictured above).