The restoration of the Guy Harvey Youth Centre in Nantwich has reached a major milestone.
The facility, which is used several times a week by local community groups, needed a full refurbishment and refresh.
Regeneration firm Equans was brought in by Cheshire East Council to complete the first phase, which took one week to complete.
They were helped by 21 volunteers who got stuck in and delivered a total of 202 hours and over £2,500 of support.
The centre on Birchin Lane has been fully repainted inside, with a ‘sensory snug’ area created as a safe space for children and young adults with neurodiversity.
This area was also fully painted, with furniture and equipment including sensory lighting, play mats and soft play equipment, communication aids, beanbags and book cases.
The centre is set for further renovations including a gaming area and youth cinema, with work set to fully complete in May 2024.
Cllr Anna Burton, for Nantwich North and West, said: “A massive thank you to Equans for helping us to kickstart this project by redecorating the space and creating a wonderful sensory room.
“This has been transformational. Our renovations continue into 2024 with our official opening in May 2024 with a new website and an exciting programme of activities which we hope to include gaming tournaments and a cinema club.
“It is so important to give young people a space to form positive relationships with peers outside of the school environment, and to learn new skills in an informal environment.”
Greg Fitzmaurice, operations director at Equans, said: “As part of our 10-year partnership with Cheshire East Council, Equans has made a commitment to undertake a minimum of 3,000 hours of volunteering and donate a minimum of £50,000 to support local charities and projects, such as this.
“I am very proud of all of the Equans staff who volunteered their time to support this fantastic project which will benefit the local community massively, creating a key hub for children and young adults to use.
“All of our staff can take two days leave per year to undertake volunteering to support projects such as this, and I’m sure this is the first of many similar schemes to come.”
The Guy Harvey Centre currently holds a youth club three nights a week, creating a safe space for young people to meet up and relax while also providing support on a range of topics.
The space is also used by various other local businesses to run events and hold classes.
Well said Dave,
Massively helpful post “Dave”
Didn’t see any info here calling for volunteers, bit short sighted as there would be lots of willing time served locals around the area to help on this, poor media skills really