Planning application submitted for Croydon Youth Zone

The dream of building a state-of-the-art OnSide Youth Zone in Croydon has moved one step closer to becoming a reality with the submission of a planning application.

Croydon Youth Zone – which was named Legacy by the young people of Croydon after a borough-wide vote – will be a world class facility open to all of the young people of the borough between the ages of 8 to 19, and up to 25 with disabilities.

The Youth Zone is being developed by the national charity OnSide, which this week submitted a planning application for Legacy to Croydon Council.

OnSide already has a successful network of nine Youth Zones across the North West and Midlands, offering young people somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to, with facitilites ranging from a 3G football pitch and a multi-use sports hall to cooking, music, art, gymnastics and enterprise and employability.

Croydon Youth Zone will cost £6million to build; all of which has been secured through partners including The Stone Family Foundation and The Queen’s Trust. As well as providing the site, Croydon Council agreed to an investment of £3.25million towards the Youth Zone construction costs as well as £300,000 per year towards the facility’s running costs per year.

OnSide has committed to securing the remainder of the running costs through private sector philantrophy, local business support and other funders.

Mark Ward, Project Director at OnSide, said: “We are delighted to be at a stage now where we can submit a full planning application to Croydon Council and we’re proud to reveal the final designs for Legacy. This is a very exciting milestone for everyone involved and, most importantly, for the young people of Croydon.”

Councillor Alisa Flemming, Croydon’s cabinet member for Children, Young People and Learning, said: “As a Council we are determined to reverse the process of cuts to youth services that have been seen both locally and nationally over the last five years. Our partnership with OnSide is a brilliant way of levering in private sector financial support for this much-needed facilitiy.”