Town centre youth zone build starts
19 Feb 2025
A new dedicated youth facility is to be built in Cramlington - with work now underway.
The County Council’s Cabinet approved £498,070 funding for the new youth dedicated facility as part of a £3.5 million development in Cramlington.
The drop-in centre will be built next to the existing building occupied by Cramlington Voluntary Youth Project (CVYP). The project was initiated and developed by the Town Council who sought funding for the building from the County Council’s regeneration fund.
The project, to be delivered by Cramlington Town Council in partnership with CVYP, follows consultation with young people in the town and responds to key issues for them including the lack of places they could go to study, relax and socialise safely. Day to day running and staffing costs of the new centre will be supported by the Town Council.
The centre will be split into two zones, one being a relaxation area, a safe space to socialise with friends, play games and use WIFI, the other being a quiet workspace and homework area as well as a space for delivering employability and educational workshops.
The project is anticipated to open by the end of this year.
Councillor Richard Wearmouth, Cabinet Member for business and opportunities at Northumberland County Council explained: “It’s fantastic to be able to support the creation of these exciting new facilities dedicated for young people to be able to study, socialise and relax in Cramlington.
Councillor Mark Swinburn, Town and County Councillor for Cramlington Village, said: “On behalf of Town and County Councillors in Cramlington, it's great to see this extremely worthwhile project getting underway which will benefit so many young people in the town.
“It will be a great boost on top of all our work with the Town Council, Cramlington Voluntary Youth Project, Northumbria Police, Northumberland Communities Together and other partners to ensure there is a range of positive opportunities for youth engagement and activities in the town.”
Councillor Helen Morris, Mayor for Cramlington Town Council said: “Now the funding has finally been approved we are looking forward to delivering this important scheme and working alongside our partners at the Cramlington Voluntary Youth Project.”
Funded by the County Council and delivered by Cramlington Town Council, this project is one of the early projects in the Cramlington Regeneration Programme which is investing in a range of schemes to improve the town. This includes cycling and walking corridors, green spaces and parks and youth provision. Of the £3.5m programme, over £1.2m of project funding has now been approved by the Council.
In the longer term further projects are being developed to respond to the issues about the town centre and community and sports facilities. Investment in study work will identify options to improve access and parking, public realm and green spaces and connectivity in and out of the centre on public transport as well as community sport and recreation facilities in the town.
The projects approved come on the back of the ‘Cramlington Conversation’, where over 500 people fed back on improvements they would like to see across the town. This helped shape plans to improve the town.
The programme has been shaped in partnership with the Cramlington Town Forum. The Forum is a partnership of Cramlington Town Council, County Council, Manor Walks Shopping Centre, Advance Northumberland, Northumbria Police and a range of public, private and community stakeholders in the town.