New £3.8m youth centre officially opens
A brand new youth centre, designed by young people, has opened.
The inclusive centre, called 'The Base', has been set up by Swindon Borough Council and will provide services for children aged between 11 and 16.
The redevelopment of the site in Park North, formerly known as the Lyndhurst Centre, has been funded by a £3.8m grant from the Government's Youth Investment Fund.
Three charities, SMASH, STEP and WAY, have also been involved in the project.
More news stories for Wiltshire
Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire
Young people were consulted on what they would like to have in the centre and will also be involved in a management committee.
New facilities will include a gym, a hair and beauty hub, an alternative education facility, music booths and a kitchen with teaching provisions.
Asked about the costs involved in running the centre, which could be up to £500,000 a year, councillor Paul Dixon, from Swindon Borough Council, said: "It's about investing to save.
"It's about involving the young people and involving the community, it's involving the charities and looking at all sections of the community, how we can all work together to bring in additional funding.
"I think in the long term it will reap rewards and we can build on the successes."
There will also be activities for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and opportunities for young people to engage with local training and employment opportunities in the borough.
The building will be open from 08:00 until 22:00 daily.
Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
Work begins to create new £3.8m youth centre
Young people 'at heart' of new £3.8m Swindon centre
Swindon Borough Council
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Archaeologists uncover long-lost Ancient Roman building under construction site
A pedestrian who spotted a strange arrangement of stones wound up helping archaeologists rediscover an Ancient Roman building. The find was announced by the Swiss canton of Solothurn on Facebook on May 20. The 'exciting' discovery was spotted at a highway construction site near Luterbach, 22 miles north of the city of Bern, the group said. 'A pedestrian discovered stones and brick fragments not far from the motorway bridge about a week ago,' said the post, which was translated from Swiss German to English. 'It soon became clear: A Roman building is buried here.' Pictures of the site show the stone foundation shockingly close to the road. '[T]he Roman foundation remains will be covered again in the preparatory work for the replacement of the bridge over the highway,' the release added. 3 A pedestrian who spotted a strange arrangement of stones wound up helping archaeologists rediscover an Ancient Roman building. Facebook/Kanton Solothurn Interestingly, this is likely not the first time that archaeologists have excavated the building. The canton noted that 'as early as the 1860s, an old structure made of pebble and granite stones was excavated at this location.' '[Archaeologists discovered] brick fragments, parts of a silver bowl, and later finds from Roman and late Celtic times,' the Facebook post added. 'However, the exact location of the 'old structure' remained unknown. Until now.' 3 '[T]he Roman foundation remains will be covered again in the preparatory work for the replacement of the bridge over the highway,' a release said. Facebook/Kanton Solothurn 3 The discovery was spotted at a highway construction site near Luterbach, 22 miles north of the city of Bern, the Swiss canton of Solothurn said. Facebook/Kanton Solothurn The recent discovery is the latest addition to a long list of ancient finds made in Europe so far this year. In Greece, archaeologists recently excavated an ancient workshop that revealed several unfinished projects. This spring, volunteers in the United Kingdom unearthed an ancient depiction of a Roman goddess while digging near Hadrian's Wall.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rescued baby skunks enjoy a good song
June marks the beginning of baby skunk season, when skunk kits start following their mothers out of their dens. In less than 24 hours, the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in Washington Boro, Pennsylvania admitted 27 kits into their care. In a Facebook post, the wildlife center in southeastern PA, described a 'particularly heartbreaking case' in which a good Samaritan discovered baby skunks near an old shed. 'A single baby skunk or several skunk kits found alone are always in need of rescue,' Tracie Young, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator at the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center, tells Popular Science. 'Mother skunks are very protective of their kits and will never leave them out of her sight. The baby skunks have poor eyesight but a good sense of smell and that is how they locate and are able to stay with her, especially at night.' In other words, if a skunk kit is on its own, it's not because it strayed too far and got lost. Sure enough, the man also found what he believed to be the dead mama skunk. He thus put the babies in a box and drove them to the wildlife center. The facility's staff will care for the baby skunks for several months before setting them free, according to the post. Young says that they receive an average of 50 to 70 skunks kits during the busy baby season, and can admit over 20 adults throughout the year. Admitted skunks are typically suffering with issues spanning from rabies to soda cans stuck on their heads. The greatest threats to baby skunks include predators such as the great horned owls (skunks are apparently their favorite food), vehicle collisions, dog attacks, and even members of the public who 'fall in love with this little innocent cute ball of fuzz and decide to keep it.' Unfortunately, in states like Pennsylvania, this human exposure requires authorities to euthanize the skunk and test it for rabies. Young thus emphasizes that if anyone spots one or more motherless skunk babies, they should always reach out to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center that specializes in skunks. [ Related: What to do if you find a baby bird out of its nest. ] Plus, life is pretty good at the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center (though the best place for a kit skunk is at its mother's side). Young explains that skunks have individual body language and attitudes, similarly to cats. Since they have 'poor eyesight and we never want to startle them, we actually sing to them,' she says, specifying that their song of choice is a modified version of the viral 'Baby Shark.' Baby skunk do do do do do do…
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Beloved 'Hole-in-the-Wall' Pizza Restaurant Is Closing After 31 Years
A beloved "hole-in-the-wall" pizza restaurant known for its pepperoni rolls is closing after 31 years. Champs Food Mart & Pizza was based in Fort Pierce, FL. Treasure Coast News described the restaurant as popular, and customers described it as a legend and having the "best pizza ever." "After 31 Wonderful Years, We're Saying Goodbye!" the pizzeria wrote on its Facebook page on June 11. "This Friday, 6/13, will be the final day of service for Champs. After over three decades of serving this amazing community, Vinny is headed for a well-deserved retirement. We're so grateful for your support and loyalty over the years, and we hope to see you one last time before we close this chapter on Friday," the post says. "Thank you for being part of our journey, and as always, Go Yankees." Customers weighed in on the comment thread. "Congratulations and good luck. But you are the only place that makes pepperoni rolls," wrote one. "Vinny's retiring?! Champs is closing?! I'm unwell. After 31 years of pizza greatness, you're leaving us carb-less and crying. Enjoy retirement, legend — you've earned it (but I'm still mad)," another person wrote. "I already called out of work and I'm driving down for one last pepperoni roll. With being neighbors at one time, you all are a fundamental part of my childhood. Scraping up change to get a .50 cent pepperoni roll (back in 1998) as a kid and grabbing .05 cent candies. I'll never forget you, Vinny, and your #1 pizza spot," wrote another customer. "Best pizza and sausage roll ever! Congratulations, you will be missed!" another person wrote. The restaurant described itself on Facebook as a "neighborhood pizzeria established in 1994."Beloved 'Hole-in-the-Wall' Pizza Restaurant Is Closing After 31 Years first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 13, 2025
