A development agreement has been signed between St. Modwen and
Birmingham City Council for a new £5 million youth centre,
which will be built at the heart of the Longbridge regeneration
project.
The 'myplace' centre will provide a wide range of innovative and
much-needed services to 13 -19 year olds in the Longbridge area.
Planning permission was received earlier this year and construction
work is due to commence this summer to enable the centre to open
its doors in summer 2012.The building has been designed to meet a
BREEAM 'Very Good' rating.
The development of the centre has been made possible through a
council-secured grant from the Government's myplace programme; a
Big Lottery Fund scheme to invest in state-of-the-art facilities
for young people across the UK. Located off Longbridge Lane, the
new youth centre will address the lack of dedicated facilities for
young people in the area. The location of the site was selected for
its proximity to the new £66 million Bournville College
campus, Longbridge rail station and new Longbridge town centre
site, maximising its accessibility.
Mike Murray, senior development surveyor for St. Modwen, said:
"It is excellent news that funding and planning permission are now
in place for the new Longbridge youth centre. The facility will
play an important part in the long-term social, cultural and
economic improvement of the area, as there is currently no
statutory youth provision. Providing a safe and welcoming
environment, the centre will give young people the opportunity to
participate in a range of activities and enterprise programmes,
with the space to socialise and enjoy new learning experiences in
preparation for their future. In turn, it is envisaged that this
will have a positive impact on the ongoing growth and future
prosperity of Longbridge."
Councillor Les Lawrence, cabinet member for children, young
people and families for Birmingham City Council, said: "This is a
very exciting project and I am delighted that the deal with St.
Modwen has been signed. The young people who will be using the
centre have been fully involved in its design and development. This
is a fantastic opportunity for those living in the south-west of
the city and an important cornerstone of regeneration drives for
the Longbridge area. We have had a very successful partnership with
St. Modwen to deliver a facility that I am sure will set the
standard for youth centres."
The building will feature multi-functional rooms, performing
arts space, sports hall and conference rooms. It will also
include an ICT suite, music and media centre, workshop area,
outdoor multi-use games area, café and garden. The
facilities will support a range of sporting activities, creative
and performing arts, active citizenship and volunteering, youth
business, social enterprise, guidance counselling (such as health
services), education, training and career advice. Based in the
centre there will be a team of professionally qualified Youth
Workers who will deliver the range of services to young people. The
voluntary sector will be key partners in the delivery of the
services. The partners currently include Catch 22, Birmingham YMCA,
Worth Unlimited, West Midlands Police and Birmingham Federation of
Clubs for Young People.
The myplace centre funding was achieved by Birmingham City
Council Youth Service, which has created a Young People's Forum to
ensure young people's views have been central to the development of
the new youth centre. The Forum has brought together
representatives from local schools and was created to progress the
design plans and engender a sense of ownership from the outset. It
will be aligned to Birmingham Youth Service development plan,
Birmingham Children and Young People's plan, Local Area Agreement
indicators both for children and young people, and the Northfield
Constituency Strategic Partnership.
The regeneration of Longbridge is a £1 billion project
covering 468 acres and aspires to a total jobs target of 10,000 for
the whole development through a diverse range of industries,
together with a 2,000 new homes, a new town centre for Longbridge
with a range of retail, leisure and public facilities and new parks
and public open spaces.