Youth centre set to move (From Stroud News and Journal)

Youth centre set to move

A YOUTH centre in Stroud is set to move house in the new year where young people will enjoy bigger and better facilities.

In November children at Stroud Valley School were finally reunited on one site, with the juniors joining the infants at Castle Street, leaving the Ryeleaze Road site vacant.

Now to complete the circle county council bosses are hoping to move the Roxburgh House youth facilities, currently next door to the new super-school, down the hill to the old junior school.

The scheme must go through the planning process and nothing will be fixed until the new year.

But if the plans get the go ahead, the existing canteen will be demolished and replaced by a sports hall.

"Roxburgh House is a very popular youth and community centre, which provides a welcoming meeting place for young people in the Stroud area," said Emma Woodward, a spokesman for Gloucestershire County Council.

"The centre has successfully operated in the premises for over 20 years and provides a wide range of social education programmes for all ages over 11 years old, including a young people's disability group, youth council, arts, community radio, one to one work and a base for street based work around the area.

"The school still needs the land occupied by Roxburgh House to provide additional parking and hard play areas. "As part of this wider redevelopment programme it was proposed that the former junior site would then be used to decant Roxburgh House so the existing services provided could continue to operate in the same locality."

Stroud Town Council's planning applications committee was enthusiastic about the move, but wanted the sports hall to look better.

"We fully support the principle of relocating Roxburgh House to this accessible, town centre site," said committee chairman Cllr Andy Read.

"We're just concerned that something can be done to reduce the impact of the aluminium roofing suggested and that the elevations be altered or a different material used.

"We would also suggest that sound insulation is built into the original design to allow it to be used for other things like concerts in the future."