Funding secured for new multi-million pound youth centre

More than £11m has been secured to construct a new “state-of-the-art” youth centre in south Bristol.

National charity OnSide has been awarded £6.9m from the government’s Youth Investment Fund to build the facility.

It is developing the “Youth Zone” alongside Bristol City Council, which is contributing £7.3m towards its construction costs.

Set to open in 2025, the centre – proposed on a section of green space around the Inns Court estate in Knowle West – will be run by local charity Youth Moves.

The facility – proposed between the Hartcliffe Way junction at Imperial Retail Park and residential street Campian Walk in Inns Court – will become one of 14 Youth Zones across the country.

The Youth Zone is proposed on a patch of green space between a housing estate and a retail park – photo: Google

Councillor Asher Craig, deputy mayor of Bristol with responsibility for children’s services, says the funding is “great news for the children and young people of our city”.

She said: “Having now secured all the capital costs, OnSide, Youth Moves, and our administration have taken another step towards building a brand new, world-class youth facility in south Bristol.

“The new Youth Zone will ensure young people in the area have access to vital services and support and represents one of the biggest investments in the sector for some time.

“Investment in families is a key focus for the mayor and this exciting project was a big part of our manifesto.”

Open to ages eight to 19 (up to 25 for those with additional needs), the Youth Zone will operate seven days a week – for just 50p a visit.

Its facilities will include an indoor climbing wall, four-court sports hall, training kitchen, music room with a recording studio, fully-equipped gym, dance and drama studio, 3G kick pitch, arts and crafts room, enterprise and employability suite – combined with support from skilled youth workers.

But concerns have been raised about the proposed location of the facility and the potential impact on other youth provision in south Bristol.

It will cost Youth Moves £1.3m a year to run the centre, which the council is contributing £400,000 towards, with the remainder to be sought from private sector and philanthropic contributions.

The Youth Zone will be run by local charity Youth Moves, currently based at The Park Centre in Knowle West – photo: Youth Moves

Ali Dale, CEO of Youth Moves, says the Youth Zone “will give thousands of young people the opportunity to make new friends, discover new passions and be supported”.

He added: “We are very excited by this opportunity coming to south Bristol, an area we have been embedded in as a youth work charity for a long time.

“We are very familiar with its challenges and see this as central to support our work in bridging the gap for young people in our city.

“The new Youth Zone will become home to Youth Moves but it will also be a platform for our many other brilliant youth organisations in south Bristol to deliver their services and we are excited to work alongside them.”

A planning application for the Youth Zone was submitted last year, with the council’s planning committee to make a decision later this year.

A public information notice says investigation works are currently being carried out at the proposed site, “to identify the ground geology as well as buried services on the land”.

Charlie Watts is reporting on Knowle West as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media 

Main photo: Seven Architecture 

Read next:

• New home for award-winning youth charity
• Council challenged over plans to build youth centre on green space
• Rundown high street to receive £15m boost 

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