A Hat-trick of Youth Zones in London

Proposals for the development of another Youth Zone have been given the go-ahead by Croydon Council – our third London project to be announced within a matter of months.

Councillors voted in favour of the exciting plans, which will see a purpose-built Youth Zone open seven-days-a-week with more than 20 activities on offer every session for young people aged 8-19, or up to 25 for those with a disability from the borough.

Youth Zones are safe, inspiring and affordable places for young people to spend their leisure time and we are delighted that Croydon is bringing one of our facilities to the area. Not only will the Youth Zone support those harder to reach young people, in particular from deprived backgrounds, but it will also provide a supportive and exciting place that all young people from the borough can access to help them live happier, healthier and more aspirational lives.

Croydon is our third Youth Zone location to be announced within a matter of months. It is really overwhelming to see the vision and commitment being invested from so many London boroughs to provide even more positive outcomes for their future generations.

Croydon Council agreed proposals for the development of the state-of-the-art youth facility at the preferred site close to Whitehorse Road in Thornton Heath.

Councillor Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, families, and learning at Croydon Council said: “The council invests heavily every year in new and expanded school facilities, but it’s important that young people also have access to productive and fun activities in the evenings and weekends. This new centre will complement the council’s four existing youth hubs and let even more young people develop new interests and skills, meet new friends, and become more ready for adult life.”

The council will jointly fund the new Youth Zone, providing an investment of £3.25million towards the construction costs of the Youth Zone and £300,000 towards the facility’s running costs per year.

In 2015 OnSide also struck £6 million agreements in two other London boroughs to create Youth Zones in Barking and Dagenham and Barnet, as part of five priority locations identified in the capital. Find out more about OnSide Youth Zones in London by clicking here.