Young people around the country are to benefit from further government funding to deliver new or refurbished youth centres.
Making up the largest round yet of the Youth Investment Fund, the latest funding boost of £90 million will support the delivery of 140 youth centres, benefitting almost 20,000 young people. These centres support young people in communities around the nation to broaden their horizons through opportunities that they might not usually have including dance, drama, sport, and employment skills.
With this latest funding, more than £250 million of the £300 million Youth Investment Fund budget has been allocated in areas where there is a great need for youth opportunities and services, but provision is lacking. Some of these areas include:
- Pendle - A grant worth more than £1.4 million will refurbish a gym with new facilities and equipment to support a further 290 young people every week.
- Southampton - A new community café and training centre supported by £1.2 million of funding that provides a safe haven for young people in a disadvantaged part of the city.
- Liverpool - An expansion to the Positive Futures Hub that will bring a sensory room, music rooms, art space and a large sports hall for a further 250 young people a week.
- Plymouth – The renovation of two listed buildings at a lido, giving an additional 300 young people the opportunity for new training and educational programmes.
- Weymouth – A refurbishment for the Scouts building so that almost 80 more young people will benefit from a doubling of size, bringing the ability to run multiple activities at a time.
Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, said:
“I want to see every young person have someone to talk to, something to do, and somewhere to go outside of the classroom, no matter where they are from, to help maximise their potential in life.
“This next round of funding from the Youth Investment Fund will help nearly 20,000 more young people achieve this goal.
“We have now committed to building or refurbishing over 220 projects in some of the country’s most underserved areas, creating more opportunities for young people to gain the skills needed to succeed in life and stopping them from falling through the cracks.”
This funding is a key part of the government’s National Youth Guarantee, which is working to make sure that every person between the ages of 11 and 18 in England has the opportunity to access regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home, and volunteering. The goal for this is 2025, with more than £500 million worth of investment supporting it.
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