Youth Cafe - all systems go

In a groundbreaking initiative being watched nationally, Yate Town Council has won its long struggle to get a youth cafe for the town. There is no model anywhere in the UK that will offer quite the blend of facilities from the commercial (not for profit) café / disco to the upstairs training and development opportunities.

A £1.3 million complex will now be build between the leisure centre and the roundabout. No trees will be removed (except the very small straggly one by the path to Morrisons). It will provide a 7 day a week informal cafe venue for young people from all over the town to gather, meeting the needs they have expressed - with rooms behind in which a range of youth services will be provided. Young people have been involved at all stages of the design.

Now it's time for you to have your say. The current designs will be shown at a special exhibition at Yate Lesiure Centre 1 - 11 September. There will be a drop in session where representatives from Yate Town Council and South Gloucestershire officers will be present to answer questions on Monday 7 September from 2.00 - 8.30pm. Comments are needed that week, as the final design will be signed off as soon as the comments can be considered and acted on.

Cllr Chris Willmore, who has led the project, paid tribute to the town councillors and the young people who have stuck with the project through thick and thin. "They could have settled for second best, but held out for what will be an amazing facility - there are few communities in this country that would back their young people in this way. I am really grateful that Yate Town Council unanimously agreed to put £650,000 into the scheme, and that officers at South Gloucestershire have worked with us to find£650,000 from their funds"