A giant new youth club can now be built in South Bristol after councillors voted to grant planning permission. The Youth Zone is expected to open in two years and will offer a wide range of services and activities for children and young people across the south of the city.
The youth club will be built on grassland south of the Inns Court housing estate, just north of the roundabout connecting Hengrove Way and Hartcliffe Way. OnSide, the charity behind the plans, welcomed the planning approval on Tuesday, June 13 as a 'huge step forward'.
The plans include a two-storey building, disabled and minibus parking, an access road, a five-a-side pitch, and a single-storey storage building. The youth centre will run activities such as football, boxing, climbing, creative arts, music, drama and employability training.
Read more: South Bristol residents object to youth club plan due to loss of green open space
Bristol City Council’s development control B committee voted unanimously to grant permission on Tuesday, June 13. A decision was originally due last month, but this was delayed due to access issues, as a new junction off Hartcliffe Way is also planned.
Conservative Councillor Richard Eddy said: “I live about half a mile away. This is a great scheme and it’s good to see some youth services covering the sticks and the suburbs. I’ll be supporting this with bells on.”
Labour Cllr Fabian Breckels added: “This is a no brainer for me. We’re paying the price for the loss of youth provision across the city that’s happened during the austerity years. This is going to be a huge benefit to South Bristol where there are particular challenges.”
OnSide has opened 14 similar Youth Zones across the country. The new youth club in Bristol will be operated by Youth Moves, a local charity. Speaking after the planning meeting, Allistair Dale, chief executive of Youth Moves, said the decision was “amazing news”.
He said: “This is amazing news and a huge step forward to having an incredible Youth Zone for the young people of South Bristol. Partnering with OnSide to deliver this will hugely enhance what we at Youth Moves are able to offer young people in the area.
“It means we’ll be able to add to our brilliant team of dedicated and talented youth workers who are changing lives every day. Being able to deliver on a much larger scale from a Youth Zone setting, working alongside our local partners, will be a huge benefit to everyone and will mean we can reach so many more young people in the process.”
Some local residents living in Knowle West had previously objected to the plans, due to the loss of the grassland. The area is popular with dog walkers and children playing, although nobody living nearby spoke out against the plans during the development control meeting.
The site was allocated for new housing, and a previous planning report said the application would still need approval from the government before the development can go ahead. However, no reference of this was made during the meeting or latest planning report, so it’s unclear whether this is still the case.
The centre will cost £5 for an annual membership and 50p per visit, with fees waived for young people who can’t afford this, and will open for more than 40 hours a week. OnSide will also be looking for businesses and local philanthropic community to support the Youth Zone and anyone interested in helping out is encouraged to get in touch.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Asher Craig, deputy mayor for education, said: “This planning permission is another positive step towards the development of our new Youth Zone. It’s great news for the children and young people of Bristol who I know are going to benefit massively by having this brand-new, state-of-the-art youth facility in South Bristol.
“The mayor and our administration are committed to giving every young person in Bristol the opportunity to thrive, and we will continue to invest in our city’s families and their future. We are looking forward to continuing to work with OnSide and Youth Moves to bring the new Youth Zone to South Bristol, delivering on another manifesto commitment.”
