Decision details

For the Executive to approve the commencement of a feasibility study for the Town Centre Youth Centre project.

RESOLVED that the commencement of a feasibility study for the Town Centre Youth Centre be approved.

      i)        A town centre youth facility is required to provide a place for young people to go, where they can socialise and receive advice and guidance from youth workers and other professionals whose remit is to provide early help to young people. This is particularly important for the most vulnerable young people in the Borough who may be at a greater risk of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), gang initiation and Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE), including 'County Lines' when gangs and organised crime networks exploit children to sell drugs.

     ii)        The new town centre is attractive to young people and without such provision young people congregate in the town centre on an ad-hoc basis making the targeting and co-ordination of early help more difficult.

    iii)        Creation of a town centre youth facility has been a long standing objective for the Council.

   iv)        A site has been identified on Braccan Walk, which following consultation has the potential to deliver such a facility in close proximity to the town centre.

      i)        Not having such a facility is not a realistic option given the need outlined in 3.1 to 3.3 of the Director of Children, Young People and Learning’s report.

     ii)        The nearest existing youth facility is at Coopers Hill but this is too far from the town centre to make this an attractive location for young people. The new town centre is now drawing people of all ages and walks of life but there is currently no specific provision for young people.

    iii)        The previous commitment by the Council to create a town centre youth facility has been actively pursued and the Braccan Walk proposal is presented as the most favourable option following evaluation of a number of other options that have been  previously considered. These have included:

·      Development of  the Coopers Hill site

·      Accommodation in Princess Square

·      Co-location with the library

·      Accommodation at 14 Market Street

·      Accommodation at the former 3M building

   iv)        On evaluation none of these options have proved to be viable in terms of either availability or location or surroundings or estimated running costs.

None