By A preview of Grimsby’s new £8.5m youth zone
Charity OnSide have released preview images of what can be expected from Grimsby’s new £8.5m youth zone at Garth Lane.
This is how the project that is expected to to transform the lives of thousands of people in the area will look.
It has been announced that plan for Grimsby’s youth zone will be submitted in June. The announcement that it was to be built was initially made in July 2019.
A statement issued by OnSide said:
“As part of the second phase of the Town Deal, North East Lincolnshire Council will work with national charity OnSide to develop a brand-new Youth Zone in Grimsby town centre. OnSide currently successfully operates a national network of 12 Youth Zones across the UK with a number of others in the development pipeline.
The additional investment confirmed today will support the development of the strategic Garth Lane site and brings the total public and private investment through the Town Deal to £88 million, including £21 million of new investment since the launch of the Town Deal in July 2018.
The Grimsby Town Deal puts skilled jobs and education at its heart, a key part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy for the UK, driving growth, productivity and boosting earning power across the region. The next stage of the Town Deal will also look at a programme to drive up educational attainment and enhance adult skills.”
It is thought that the centre will create at least 50 new jobs.
The OnSide youth zone is a key part of the £90m Greater Grimsby Town Deal, which was signed in 2018.
The deal aims to revive the town with a series of new redevelopment projects.
Behind the Grimsby’s OnSide Youth Zone is Grimsby Town suitor Tom Shutes, businessman Jason Stockwood and Andrew Pettit of the family butchers.
Mr Shutes, best known locally for his attempts to purchase Grimsby Town, and to build a new stadium, said:
“When we first started looking at regeneration proposals for the area, and what the new town deal would mean for Grimsby, it was very obvious that young people had to be first on the list, but we felt that there wasn’t a really powerful symbol for young people in the area,” he said.
“I’ve been to several of these zones in other parts of the country; I’ve been supportive of the work that Charles Mendenhall [a national trustee of OnSide youth zones] has done in London where there are four opening almost simultaneously.
“And I just thought that he was just unbelievably brilliant and inspiring and dynamic, and speaking to my 17-year-old self, I was kind of thinking, ‘If only we had this kind of thing’.”
Existing Onside youth zones offer a climbing wall, dance facilities, a four-court sports hall, a gym, a cooking room, arts and crafts and a film and media room, among other things.
There are at least 20 activities offered per hour and it costs 50p per visit, with annual membership set at £5 per year, therefore providing extra-curricular activities to some of the most deprived kids in the community.
The Garth Lane site will need up to 50 workers, some of whom will be recruited from the local community.
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