A GROUP of young people elected to represent the voice of Warrington’s youth have been found a new home at a busy town centre shopping mall.
Members of Warrington Youth Council will set up a temporary meeting place at Golden Square shopping centre in a room provided free of charge after they lost their original base as part of major regeneration elsewhere in the town centre.
They will be joined by three other youth groups in the town after the new space was found for them by Golden Square Centre Director, Ian Cox, who heard about their predicament and was keen to help.
Mr Cox said: “Golden Square is at the heart of the Warrington community and we value the support shown to us from the people in the town.
“When I heard that several youth groups in the town were temporarily homeless, I wanted to find a free space within the shopping centre which could serve as somewhere for them to meet and carry on their good work.
“We are delighted to be able to help four youth groups, including the Warrington Youth Council, who have recently found themselves without a base due to redevelopment in the town.”
Four groups which operate under the guidance of Warrington Youth Service previously used the youth café in Time Square which was closed at the end of January to make way for the £52m regeneration of the Bridge Street area.
They have since been operating out of either the Town Hall or Orford Youth Centre while the youth service mounted a search for a temporary meeting place for the dozens of youngsters aged 13-19 who are regular users of the groups to tide them over until they move into a permanent new base later this year.
Now, IMPACT, which includes members of Warrington Youth Council, GLYSS, the Gay and Lesbian Youth Support Scheme and the Eastern European Youth Group will all move their headquarters to Golden Square.
It will also become the base for the youth outreach scheme, which sees teams of youth workers heading out to offer young people in the town centre advice and guidance.
Matthew Pilling, voluntary sector link officer for Warrington Youth Service who has been co-ordinating the relocation of the groups, said: “As soon as we learned that the café would have to close due to the massive redevelopment scheme taking place in the town centre we began looking for somewhere suitable to tide us over until we can move all
the groups into a permanent base in the town which is due to open around the end of this summer.
“Golden Square came up with the offer of a room, free of charge, beneath the main shopping centre close to the public facilities.”
Pictured: Ian Cox with members of Warrington Youth Council, 17 year old Candice Barclay and 17 year old Katherine Instone-Cowie (right) at their new home in Golden Square.
