Banbury set to get £3m youth centre (From Banbury Cake)

Banbury set to get £3m youth centre

2:33pm Monday 8th February 2010

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A YOUTH centre in Banbury used by almost 900 young people is set to be demolished and replaced with a new £3m building.

The 1960s building, home to Banbury Youth Centre, in Woodgreen, will close in June.

The new building, called the New Futures Centre, will house a performance hall with stage, music practice rooms, an art room, a fitness suite, a workshop and a cafe area.

Outside there will be an all-weather court for basketball and football.

The new centre, which is expected to be ready by September next year, will be funded by the Government’s Co-location Fund, which was set up to bring public services together.

Area youth worker Mike Beal said: “It’s long overdue. It’s going to increase the size and there will be an area outside for basketball. There hasn’t been any area outside before where we could run sports activities.”

He said the existing site, which is also the base for the town’s youth workers, could only offer limited activities and the building was outdated.

Mr Beal said youth services would move to other sites while the building work took place.

About 50 young people took part in a consultation on the new building’s design and what activities they wanted to see.

The new building will be eco-friendly, using low carbon design technologies, solar panels and low-energy fittings to keep running costs down.

Kieron Mallon, a town, district and county councillor for Banbury, said: “This new Woodgreen youth centre is going to be a fantastic focal point for young people.

“To have a whole range of sporting, leisure and youth facilities all in one spot is good news. Banbury is at long last getting the youth and leisure facilities it deserves.”

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