£5 million youth zone set to open its doors in Barnsley
Initial plans were made back in 2021 to bring the facility to the South Yorkshire town
A new 'youth zone' in Barnsley - designed to 'reduce social deprivation' in the town - is almost ready to open its doors.
It's been in the pipeline since 2021 - & from this Saturday - young people will be able to start going down to the facility - which's based opposite to travel exchange - 7 days a week.
Young people in the town will be able to come here & try up to 20 different activities - including things like music & sport.
Holly Hodgson from the youth zone tells us more:
"We've got arts and crafts; we've got a training kitchen for those wanting to learn how to cook; we've got a football pitch on our roof - so kids can come in and use that; we have the huge climbing wall, music facilities, and a fully kitted out gym.
"There's pretty much something for everybody here."
Gareth Webb also works at Base 71 - who run the youth zone - which's the first of its kind in Yorkshire - He says it'll be accessible to everybody:
"It's 50 pence for a session, and with that you can use all the facilities in the youth zone.
"We also have home cooked food available for young people wanting some tea here after school - that will cost just £1.
"The whole point of the youth zone is to give children somewhere safe to be, but also to give them an opportunity to try something new.
"In Barnsley, a lot of parents can't afford to send their children to music lessons, so here they can try out the guitar or the climbing wall - and then if it's something they take to - then their parents can look at investing in this kind of thing safe in the knowledge that their son or daughter has a new passion.
"We want to reach out to the young people - who are perhaps lingering around the interchange in Barnsley town centre in the evening and don't know what to do with themselves.
"We want to give them a new focus in life and offer them a better path, so that they don't go down the wrong path."
The project has cost more than £5 million - with Barnsley Council pumping around £4 million into it.
You can read more about the youth zone in Barnsley on the link below:
https://www.base71youthzone.org/