Young people excited as Horizon Youth Zone construction begins in Grimsby
It's expected to open in 2025
Young people in Grimsby and Cleethorpes have shared their excitement for the development of a state-of-the-art £13.5m youth centre.
The Horizon Youth Zone will offer sessions for children for as little as 50p and play host to a range of activities. It will include a 3G Kick Pitch, an indoor climbing wall, four-court sports hall, training kitchen, music room with a recording studio, fully equipped gym, dance, and drama studio, arts and crafts room, and an enterprise and employability suite.
Construction staff moved onto the Garth Lane site in June. The youth centre is being delivered by national charity OnSide in partnership with the council.
Once a week since 2019, apart from interrupted by the pandemic, a group of young people have met to discuss their aspirations for the project. This has ranged from its name to the logo, to sharing their needs and wants from the completed youth centre.
A trio are set to visit the USA as part of their involvement with the Horizon Youth Zone. As well as more recently playing outdoor games in People’s Park and catching up at Grimsby’s University Centre, the group were also involved in interviewing candidates for the position of Horizon’s chief executive officer.
“It is exciting to be a part of something this special, and I hope that we can all make big changes as the Youth Zone becomes a reality,” said 19-year-old Ibrahim from Cleethorpes.
He has been attending the group of young people for the last year. Known to friends as ‘Ibo’, he added: “The project will be for 8-19-year-olds (up to 25 for those with additional needs), so I am at the older end of the scale and will be too old for it when it is finished, but I have enjoyed being a part of the legacy I hope it will leave in the area.”
Thirteen-year-old Jacob joined Horizon after struggling with bullying at school. “The group has given me a new confidence and now I feel more able to confront negative situations with a positive attitude. It has allowed me to be much happier at school.”
Xander, just turned 13 and the youngest member of the group, said: “It has been nice to play a part in the creation of Horizon, but for me it has also given me a safe space and something to do away from home.” The trio are off to New Bedford, Massachusetts, to meet other teenagers to learn about American culture and values.
Each have their own interests for the trip and Jacob said he was looking to find out about American colleges. “I am hoping to look at what education is available there, especially when it comes to courses about crime and behind the scenes organisations.
“When they come here, we can take them to the docks and talk about the history of the area, which has been a very important part of Grimsby life.” The trio’s American counterparts will cross over to North East Lincolnshire in due course.
Horizon volunteer Kevin Childs has volunteered since the start in October 2019 and said this was the third set of young people involved with the project as people moved on after reaching the age of 19.
“We had about 50 young people in a room above Grimsby town’s McDonald’s, at one point, and probably about 12 regulars.
“They came from Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, Centre 4, West Marsh, all over the place. It was great to get their ideas so that we could make sure that what we are building is created by them, for them to use.” He added the group had pulled people in from across the area to try something new. “These are exciting times.”
The Horizon Youth Zone is expected to open in early 2025 in the Grade II Listed West Haven Maltings buildings along the River Freshney. The price of the project recently rose by £1.3m more to £13.5m because of inflationary pressures and the cost of renovating a Grade II listed building.
North East Lincolnshire Council stepped in to meet the extra cost and had already contributed to it through the Great Grimsby Town Deal. But the project has a variety of funding sources besides the council, including £1m from green energy giant Ørsted, £2.7m from the National Lottery Fund with £2.2m for renovation, and up to £7.9m from the government’s Youth Investment Fund.
Cllr Margaret Cracknell, portfolio holder for children and education, was pleased that the youth zone is already making a difference to young people before its opening.
“Given support, encouragement and a chance to grow our young people will shine and provide us with real hope for our future here in North East Lincolnshire.
“It’s clear already that the Horizon project is doing just that. I want to take this opportunity too, to thank all the local groups and organisations that are already doing such good work, which will be complemented by this new centre.”