£9.2m youth facility approved for town centre
Plans for an OnSide Youth Zone, funded by Barnsley Council and corporate and private sponsors including the town’s largest private employer, ASOS, have been approved by Barnsley Council’s Cabinet.
It will be built in the town centre on the Eastern Gateway, near to Schwabisch Gmund Way, Harborough Hill Road and Mottram Street.
It is intended to give thousands of young people from Barnsley the opportunity to develop their skills and reach their full potential.
Barnsley Youth Zone will run as an independent charity with a local board of trustees.
Young people will have access to a sports hall, 3G outdoor kick pitch, gym and boxing and martial arts room for sports, as well as a music room with a recording studio, arts and crafts area, a café, climbing wall, dance studio, sensory room, and teaching kitchen.
The Youth Zone will deliver skills and employability workshops in a dedicated enterprise and employability suite, as well as a wide range of programmes, services and activities.
It will create up to 70 full and part-time jobs and up to 100 volunteering opportunities.
The Youth Zone is being delivered by OnSide, a national charity, and will cost an estimated £9.2m to build.
Barnsley Council will contribute £4.5m towards construction costs and online fashion retailer ASOS will contribute £1.2m to the project as its first corporate sponsor, with £300,000 going towards the Youth Zone’s capital costs and the remaining investment funding revenue costs for three years.
OnSide is committed to generating the remaining construction costs.
Kathryn Morley, chief executive of OnSide, said: “Youth Zones are inspiring places that provide opportunities, raise aspirations, enhance prospects and improve health and wellbeing for young people.
“The support of the public and private sector is integral to a Youth Zone’s success. We are delighted Barnsley Council is supporting the development of Yorkshire’s first OnSide Youth Zone, alongside the generous support from ASOS as our first corporate partner.”
Councillor Tim Cheetham, cabinet spokesman for regeneration and culture, said: “We want the very best for our young people, and that’s why we and our partners are all investing in a state-of-the-art youth facility which will benefit the health, wellbeing and development of all existing and future generations of young people in the borough while complementing the wider regeneration of our town centre.”
Nick Beighton, CEO at ASOS, added: “We have a longstanding relationship with the people of Barnsley as the town’s largest private employer, and we’re thrilled to be able to give back to the community and support the work of OnSide.
“Our purpose is to give people the confidence to be whoever they want to be, so having the opportunity to work alongside the charity and Barnsley Council in championing young people to reach their full potential is a real honour for us.”
