Brent is mourning a charismatic community leader and “man of the people”, who many credit with giving them their first job or turning their lives around.
Father-of-two Leonard Johnson, who was a key figure in the Harlesden community, died of cancer aged 67 on November 1.
From the late 1970s, he played a pivotal role in education, creating jobs and building a community centre in an area riven by unemployment and crime.
Born at home in Harlesden on December 29, 1956, following a difficult childhood he spent a short time in prison, which his daughter Syretta described as a “huge turning point”.
Leonard became involved in The Annexe, a council-run youth club where the HPCC held English, dance and bible studies classes for young people, and then the bigger Hilltop Club.
He and other young people on the Stonebridge estate founded the Harlesden People’s Community Council (HPCC), where Leonard’s dream was to expand its educational, social and commercial development work.
In 1981, he discovered a bus depot in Stonebridge was being sold by London Transport.
Leonard’s vision was to transform it into a community centre to help calm tensions and quell the threat of riots like those taking place in Brixton.
Mr Johnson and the community council fought for and secured more than £1m in funding to help Brent Council buy the property, which became the Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre in Harrow Road.
The centre was opened by Prince Charles in 1987 and at its peak attracted 3,000 people a week, generating 300 jobs across operations such as catering, security, IT and through subsidised businesses.
His daughter, Syretta Johnson, 48, recalls spending a lot of time with her father as a youngster.
"From the Annexe to Hilltop to Bridge Park, I watched the journey," she said.
"He was charismatic, he always wanted the best for people and believed in everyone.
"The amount of people who say to me ‘your dad got me my first job’ or ‘he helped me turn my life around’; you hear these stories over and over, there's a multitude of them."
His son Leonard Johnson Jnr, 38, can vouch for this. When he introduced himself to his future father-in-law, he learned that Leonard had given him his first job.
He said: "My father has always been known as a ‘man of the people’ regardless of what has happened. He always put the community first and would find employment for people, he would find them childcare, he elevated them in general."
But the partnership between HPCC and Brent Council did not last. In 2014 Brent Council decided to sell the community centre to a developer as part of plans for a sports centre, hotel, shops and homes.
HPCC tried to block the sale, and in the final years of his life Leonard was locked in an ongoing legal battle over who owned the land.
Backed by the Afro-Caribbean community of Stonebridge, Harlesden, Monks Park and beyond, he was a key witness in court arguing it belonged to the community.
After both the High Court and Court of Appeal ruled that the land belonged to Brent Council, the Supreme Court ended the case in 2022, finding that there was not sufficient legal public interest to hear the case.
That may have ended in disappointment, but five days before he died, Leonard met his first grandchild, Leonard Jnr’s son, six-week-old Joshua Johnson.
Denise Richards, a friend, said: "The fight for Bridge Park wasn't a normal fight, he lived through it day and night, that's who he was.
"He has a grandson and I want that child to know the legacy of his granddad."
Brent Council leader Cllr Muhammed Butt said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Leonard’s two children, family and everyone that loved him.
"This is a huge loss for the community in Brent, as Leonard had a huge presence and was widely respected.
"Leonard was a community champion who inspired many in giving back and serving local residents.
"Although at times we may have disagreed, I have always immensely respected his contribution to Stonebridge, Harlesden, and the wider Brent community.”
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