Hove and Portslade MP Peter Kyle officially opened a new youth centre on the Knoll Estate this morning (Friday 10 April).
The Labour cabinet minister cut the ribbon at the Weller Youth Centre, in Knoll Park, off Stapley Road.
Mr Kyle said: “Brighton and Hove is often described as a youthful city but what that usually means is it’s full of people my age who feel youthful.”
He said that it hadn’t always catered well for young people and he praised the Hangleton and Knoll Project for creating a space designed with ideas from young people for young people.
Mr Kyle said that the team at the Hangleton and Knoll Project had brought together a lot of other people too as they turned a vision into a reality.
He said: “For good things to happen, it takes the hard work of a lot of good people. It only takes only one person to say no but it takes a lot of good people to say yes and to work together.”
He was among those who also praised Hangleton and Knoll Project chair Pat Weller who, with her late husband Dave, worked so hard in building the grassroots community group behind the project.
The Weller Youth Centre was funded with a £1.2 million grant awarded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Youth Investment Fund.
The grant was awarded after a successful joint bid by Brighton and Hove City Council and the Hangleton and Knoll Project.
The Hangleton and Knoll Project chief executive Jo Martindale said that the youth centre scheme had taken three years – and was built on time and to budget.
She said: “There is no way to thank everyone who made this possible and there are so many people without whom this wouldn’t have happened.
“Some people in particular went way over and above their normal role to help us.”
These included officials at the DCMS and the council and politicians who “don’t often get the credit they deserve for their public service – but without them this project wouldn’t have happened”.
And she thanked architects, builders and contractors as well as the youth workers and young people who have already breathed life into the building.
Knoll Park’s children’s play area was given a revamp two years ago. The artificial sports pitch is due to be resurfaced this year. And the neighbouring bowls club, which tends to attract a older crowd, begins its new season next week.
Pat Weller praised the youth workers whose time, commitment and dedication was so vital and added: “Without all the volunteers, the project wouldn’t happen.”
She remembered her late husband Dave, organising community barbecues for young people, among other things, and said: “I am proud – not for myself but for my family.”
The mayor of Brighton and Hove, Amanda Grimshaw, who represents Hangleton and Knoll on the council, congratulated all those involved for their work on the scheme and the youth workers and young people.
Labour councillor Emma Daniel, the council’s cabinet member for children, families and youth services, said: “The Weller Youth Centre is a safe and fun environment that has been co-designed with young people throughout its development to give them the best start in life.
“The Hangleton and Knoll Project’s relentless commitment to provide services the local community wants and needs makes it an incredible asset to the city.
“This ambition has been matched by the council and reflected in the government’s funding of this project.
“Initiatives like the Youth Investment Fund and Young Futures Hubs demonstrate a fundamental shift away from the previous government’s moral neglect of children and young people, making this an absolute priority going forwards.
“As a council, we’re determined to ensure young people have more input into policy-making through our youth council. I hope that the children and young people in Hangleton and Knoll take that opportunity and continue to shape our services and priorities.”
The Labour councillor ought go know the Youth Investment Fund was set up more than 4 years ago by the previous Conservative Government. The funding bid for the new Youth Centre was submitted when the Greens ran the Council and the Tories were still in office in Westminster. Labour are there for the cutting of the ribbon and the making of snide remarks it would seem. There’s much to be said for the example of the Labour MP who seems to have a better sense of when to be tribal and adversarial and when to be gracious.
A good idea is a good idea, regardless of where it came from. Labour was right to continue it too!