'Safe and inspiring' £1.7m youth centre set to open

A new £1.7m youth centre is on track to launch in the spring after the building work was completed two months ahead of schedule.

Warden Construction has handed the keys over to Blackpool Council following completion of its role in the project to provide bigger and better facilities on the site in the town's Gorton Street.

The next steps will be to fit out the building with furniture and equipment before Blackpool Boys and Girls Club moves in – in what will also be its 90th anniversary year.

Jed Sullivan, youth worker at Blackpool Boys and Girls Club, said: "Designed with our young people in mind, this state-of-the-art centre provides a safe and inspiring environment for learning, growing, and simply being themselves."

The existing outdated facility, in the Brunswick area of the town, was demolished earlier this year and has been replaced with a single storey, multi-use building roughly three times the size.

It includes an activity hall, canteen, office space, kitchen and washroom facilities.

The scheme, which got the go ahead from town hall planners in April, will allow for more youth work activities and opportunities for young people in what is one of Blackpool's most deprived neighbourhoods.

It has been funded through a £1.7m grant from the government's Youth Investment Fund which was announced in August 2023.

Councillor Kath Benson, cabinet member for young people and aspiration, said: "Young people from the Blackpool Boys and Girls Club helped to design the building and it is great to see their suggestions come to life."

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