Work starts on new £1million Fleetwood Trust Youth Hub

Work has now started to create a new £1 million state-of-the art community and youth hub in Fleetwood.

And it is hoped the new amenity, at the former Fleetwood Hospital site, can be up and running by June.

The final planning requirement for the Fleetwood Trust Youth Hub project has now been approved - an application to Wyre Council to vary a condition over opening hours to accommodate ambulance first responders.

Fleetwood Trust, the charity which owns the building and is overseeing the new centre, have now appointed an organisation to run it.

Services at The Hub will be delivered by Fleetwood Town Community Trust - which is the community wing of Fletwood Town FC.

As well as the physical work beginning on the interior of the building, the post of team coordinator is now being advertised through Fleetwood Town Community Trust.

The scheme is moving in apace since the start of January, when Wyre planning officers approved the application for a change of use of part of the ground floor from Use Class C2 'Residential Institution' to a multi-purpose facility for community use (Sui Generis), with a cafe, teaching kitchen, co-working space, multi-purpose studios, meeting rooms and offices. John Hartley, CEO of Fleetwood Town Community Trust said: "The Hub provides a safe space for young people to socialise, which we believe will begin to echo accross reducing levels of youth anti-social behaviour in the area.

"We are delighted to have been appointed as the delivery provider of youth services at the former Fleetwood Hospital, now owned by Fleetwood Trust.  "The successful candidate will drive a range of activities for young people aged 11-17 years to engage in and will oversee a team of youth workers and volunteers, encouraging a new sense of aspiration to those in attendance."

Application details can be found on the Fleetwood Town Community Trust website.

In additionto youth and community activities, part of the site will also play host to the North West Ambulance First Responder service.

This follows the North West Ambulance Service's recent completion of the development of its new ambulance hub on Parkinson Way, Blackpool, which meant that smaller district depots becam obsolete.

The site at Fleetwood Hospital was identified as a suitable site for Fleetwood, not as a base for crews but one they would use on an ad-hoc basis between emergency calls. Partners in theHub project include the NHS, Blackpool and Fylde College, The Pantry Food Bank, Regenda Homes, Healthier Fleetwood and MacMillan Cancer Support and Blackpool, Fylde, and Wyre Volunteer Centre.