New £5million Longbridge youth centre ready to go

Buy photos » Mark Batchelor of St Modwen, Jan Collymore from Birmingham City Council youth services and Julian Price of Morgan Sindall at the handover. s

THE BRAND new youth centre at Longbridge is all set for its summer opening after it was officially handed over to Birmingham City Council last week.

The £5million building developed by St Modwen has been created under the MyPlace scheme and will be called 'The Factory'. It is the first community centre to be built in the city for six years.

It will contain a whole host of equipment and spaces for 13 to 19-year-olds, such as a sports hall, ICT suite, cafe, garden, outdoor play area and many other multi-function rooms.

Mark Bachelor, construction manager for St Modwen said: "The handover of The Factory to Birmingham City Council is another important step in the regeneration of Longbridge."

The 17,000sq ft, three-storey buillding on Longbridge Lane, follows news that a Sainsbury's, Premier Inn and 133 property estate will be built on the former MG Rover factory site that is already home to the new £66million Bournville College.

Mark Shaw, deputy lead of youth services at Birmingham City Council, said: "The Factory will address the lack of dedicated facilities for young people in South West Birmingham and it will be a fantastic focal point.

"It will play a key part in the thriving community we are creating here."

Youth workers will be based in the centre to deliver a number of services to youths in conjunction with several voluntary organisations such as Catch 22, West Midlands Police, Birmingham YMCA, Worth Unlimited and Birmingham Federation of clubs for Young People.

Julian Price, area manager at Morgan Sindall which built the centre, said: "We're delighted to have constructed this exciting youth centre.

"It will make a positive difference to the lives of young people living in the area and there is huge amount of enthusiasm for the project."

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