Bemerton Heath Youth Hub would be a "game changer" says charity
Rise:61 supports young people around the Bemerton Heath area
A charity supporting young people in the Bemerton Heath area of Salisbury is hoping to take it's work to the next level with a new youth hub.
Rise:61 has been supporting youngsters in Bemerton Heath since 2014, providing after school clubs and mentoring sessions, but has never had it's own premises.
Director Robin Imeson says having a youth hub would be a "game-changer" for the charity and young people on the Bemerton Heath estate.
"We use some of the Community centres that are on the heath, but there's never been a dedicated space for young people and we've never had a dedicated space to do our work," he said.
"We've got a couple of log cabins, one at our bike hub and one in the community garden (on Gainsborough Close).
"But they're quite tricky places to be. There's no mains power, there's no mains water, there's no toilets. We heat off a wood burning stove. So having a modern building with all those amenities will really take our work to the next level," Robin added.
The hub, which will be on Gainsborough Close, would allow the charity to offer more support.
Robin said: "We'll be able to have bigger groups and we're hoping that we'll be able to open the youth hub for longer hours so that young people will have a home away from home and will have somewhere to go when they're in crisis."
While the charity is running clubs, they're at specific times which might not be when young people need support.
"Having a place where young people can just drop in and it just feels like their space and at any time they know they can go and find a positive and supportive adult, I think would be a game changer for our work and for the community of Bemerton Heath," Robin said.
The project has been backed by £125,000 of funding from a charity donor, with a lease agreement with Wiltshire Council agreed in principal.
Robin said he's hopeful that will signed off in the next month.
Once that is confirmed, he told Greatest Hits Radio that there were will be around a year's worth of fundraising to be done, before work can begin in 2026, with the aim of opening doors in Spring 2027.