Youth centre revamp moves ahead

Work on transforming a youth centre in a scheme which will create a music studio and community cafe will start this summer.

The Southside Youth Centre in Bath will benefit from a £2.3m cash injection which will see it turned into a fully accessible meeting place for young people.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has worked closely with young people and other local residents to secure Government money through the national lottery-funded Myplace programme.

The final bid has now been fully approved and the authority hopes to start the tendering process to find a developer by the end of the month.

Building work will begin in the summer and the new centre in Kelston View, which will feature an ICT suite and various sports facilities, is expected to be completed in a year.

Abby Calley, 19, who was on the steering group which helped develop the proposals, said: "This is great news.

"We are all looking forward to work starting on the youth centre so it can be a great place to meet and socialise.

"We've enjoyed playing a big part in developing the plans with the council and others.

"It's rewarding to have had a say about what the youth centre will be like."

The new facility will enable young people to take part in activities ranging from boxing, basketball and trampolining to street dance, martial arts and music.

The centre will be fully accessible for people with disabilities and will include a sensory room to stimulate senses such as touch and sight.

It will also house drug and alcohol support services, sexual health advice, training and employment advice, and counselling services, which will be provided by organisations such as Connexions, the Children's Society and Project 28.

Councillor Chris Watt (Con, Midsomer Norton Redfield), B&NES cabinet member for children's services, said: "The upgraded facilities will help the council's youth service deliver even better provision to improve the life chances of young people and children.

"The council, Myplace, architects, and young people themselves have worked hard to get to this point by developing high quality proposals."

The money for the project will also fund two new mobile youth service buses for rural areas.

Mr Watt added: "The new buses will be able to access rural villages more easily.

"They will represent a mobile youth service where young people can socialise, access computers, watch TV, and play music.

"This is everything that a buildings-based service could provide.

"This initiative is part of the council's effort to provide a modern youth service which is flexible and targets resources more effectively at the communities that most need them."