The Boathouse Youth is delivering a £2.2m capital investment into the spaces it provides for children and young people across Blackpool and the Fylde Coast.
“𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙮𝙡𝙙𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙨, 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩.”
We are extremely happy to announce we are bringing our provision to Bispham, in the north for the resort, after signing a 25-year lease with Blackpool Council on Whiteholme Youth & Community Centre and former Blackpool Rangers Clubhouse – both of which have been abandoned for a number of years.
It has brought together a community of all these young people who are doing something far more with their lives.
Josh Fowler, 16
Having successfully secured almost £400,000 of capital funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Clothworkers’ Charity and Vera Wolstencroft Charitable Trust, a major renovation will commence to renovate and refurbish the complex into a modern and relevant space for young people.
Laurance Hancock, chief executive of The Boathouse Youth, said: “This is part of a bigger piece of work to try and ensure there is an effective youth provision within 15-20 minutes walking distance of every young person across Blackpool and the Fylde Coast”.
The move comes just weeks before the final handover of our brand new facility in Fleetwood, which is due for completion in May 2024 and will provide a range of facilities and youth work programmes that are co-produced with young people to enable them to lead their best lives.
As previously reported, thanks to a successful capital grant from the Youth Investment Fund, our Grange Park Youth Centre has now closed to undergo major renovations works with the same aim of ensuring a fit-for-purpose modern facility is available to the estate’s youngsters.
Josh Fowler, 16, who attends the Grange Park Youth Centre, also set for major refurbishment over the next 6 months, is among many young people whose lives have been transformed.
He said: “Coming to the Boathouse has really improved my confidence. It has brought together a community of all these young people who are doing something far more with their lives – it’s something better to do than being out on the street. The residential trips are also a big thing in Boathouse. It’s nice to take young people somewhere different so they can be something else and have more space.
“It’s a fun and educational environment. It really helps young people, for example with basic life skills such as cooking. For me, building my confidence through Boathouse has been a huge thing – and it helps to have a nice environment to do that in.”
To say we’re excited about what the future holds would be an understatement. There’s a youth work revolution happening and we are ensuring that young people are front and centre.
