Government to invest £62 million in centres for young people
young people have their say on project development of world class facilities
Almost £62 million of fast track funding will be awarded to 21 successful bidders across the country as part of ambitious Government investment to deliver world class places for young people, Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families announced today.
This is the first wave of funding from a pot close to £202m to provide exciting safe places for all young people to go to and where young people can take part in a wide range of positive activities such as sport, dance and music. The BIG Lottery Fund will oversee the projects to ensure young people get exactly what they want, including £4.8m for Stoke on Trent, almost £5m for Carlisle and nearly £5m for Leeds.
Ed Balls and Jack Straw visited the Lazer Centre in Leeds, which represents the type of facilities myplace hopes to inspire across the country.
Speaking from the Lazer Centre, Ed Balls, Children and Young People’s Secretary, said 'The vast majority of young people are good citizens, play by the rules and just want better things to do and places to go after school and at the weekend rather than hanging around in the street or in the local park. They enjoy getting involved in exciting projects such as Myplace, so I hope that this scheme will help change the way communities view our young people. Myplace will transform positive activities for young people who will be able to decide what kind of facilities they want, and when they want them, such as on Friday and Saturday nights. In the Children’s Plan we said we want all young people to have the best opportunities whatever their circumstances and myplace will give young people across the country a chance to enjoy new experiences, learn new skills and become a valued member of their own community.'
Beverley Hughes, Children and Young People’s Minister, said 'Creating world class places for young people to go is part of our commitment to making this the best country in the world for our children to grow up in. myplace is another important milestone in delivering our ten year strategy: Aiming High For Young People. Young people have been actively involved in developing the myplace scheme, which we know is the best way to ensure that the projects reflect what young people want and need. At Myplace projects, young people will have the chance to take part in exciting and new activities, offering a real alternative to hanging around on the street. It’s a great opportunity not just to gain important skills, but also to enjoy positive activities with other young people and, importantly, committed, positive adults.’
Myplace is driving a transformation across the country in the way facilities for young people are planned and delivered. All Myplace projects are based on partnership between councils and third sector organisations and are driven by the active participation of young people and their views and needs.
The announcement came on the same day as Ed Balls and Jacqui Smith visit a youth centre in Leeds to see positive activities offered to young people on Friday and Saturday nights. Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said 'We are delighted to be using our expertise in distributing non-lottery funding to make these world-class youth facilities a reality. A vital part of the process has been the involvement of young people – from their role in the development of the different projects’ plans, to the knowledge and advice they brought to the Big Lottery Fund’s decision-making committee. These fantastic facilities will make a real difference to thousands of young people in communities across England.'
The fast track funding round has received an additional £11.7m to increase the original £50m allocation to £61.7m. This was in response to the high quality of applications received. This is in line with the Government's commitment to invest in and bring forward capital projects to support local economies.
Ingi, one of the young people involved in the development of the Leeds bid, said 'It felt quite cool to influence such a big, important project, and now we’ve been successful it’s a sure deal and I can point to it and say ‘I was part of that!'
T: 0870 000 2288
E: info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
W: www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthmatters/aiminghigh/myplace/
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