Young people in Southall will benefit from a new, purpose-built youth facility, which they will get to help design.
Responding to a petition on the future of the Young Adults Centre (YAC) site, which has been earmarked for urgently-needed family-sized, genuinely affordable homes since 2016, Ealing Council’s cabinet announced plans to invest the proceeds from this development into new youth facilities for Southall. This will include a new youth centre, as well as investment in interim youth facilities at Dormers Wells and the Dominion Centre while it is being built.
The council will work closely with young people to develop both the interim and permanent projects, which will also both be located near to the current YAC.
Council leader Peter Mason said: “I’d like to thank the young people who presented the petition for making the case so brilliantly for high-quality youth services in Southall. We agree with them, and we know that many people have a strong attachment to the existing Young Adult Centre in Southall.
“We’re pledging to invest in Southall’s young people and provide even better youth facilities in a relocated YAC because we know how important youth services are. Thousands of people throughout the borough have benefitted from the services, counselling, safety and friendship the current centre has provided over the years, and we want future generations to enjoy state-of-the-art facilities in a new YAC.”
‘Once-in-a-generation opportunity’
Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, cabinet member for a fairer start, said: “This is a really exciting, once-in-a-generation opportunity for Southall’s young people to work with us to design new youth facilities that work for them.
“We want to invest in a state-of-the-art youth centre in Southall, adaptable for different age groups participating in varied activities and with access to safe, open space. It will be large enough for use by groups of up to 50 young people, and it will have all the facilities that local schools need for Duke of Edinburgh sessions and more. We’re looking forward to getting started designing a youth centre with young people, for young people.”
Councillor Shital Manro, cabinet member for good growth, added: “Southall has an urgent need for new genuinely affordable, family-sized homes, with around 60 able to be provided on the YAC site. We’ll be consulting on those proposals once we have an agreed approach that will ensure that there is no break in the provision of high-quality youth facilities for Southall.”
More information
To find out more about Ealing’s youth services visit the Young Ealing website.
For more information about Broadway Living visit its website.
