Opening dates set for upgraded young people's hubs

Work started at Darwen Youth Centre in July

The opening dates for two young people's hubs in Lancashire have been revealed after the completion of multimillion-pound upgrades.

The expanded Darwen Youth Centre will be back in action in January after a £3.3m upgrade and the refurbished Audley and Queens Park Children's Centre in Blackburn will reopen its doors in December.

The two projects were among four in the borough to benefit from an £8m award from the government's Youth Investment Fund in 2023.

Blackburn with Darwen Council's children's services boss Julie Gunn said she hoped they would "help every child and young person reach their potential and to foster safer, healthier, and happier communities".

The revamped Knott Street Darwen hub will be operated by the Blackburn and Darwen Youth Zone, with full responsibility for building upkeep, running costs and service contracts.

The work has doubled the size of the venue by adding an extra storey to provide a new well-being area, creative workshop space, recording and DJ studio, gaming zone and multi-use spaces while the outdoor sports facilities have also been upgraded.

The Audley and Queen's Park Children's Centre will be run by the IMO Charity and will offer a seven-days-a-week youth hub, with specialist mental health, employability and rehabilitation support.

It will boast a new youth suite, a flexible space, upgrades to the kitchen, a teaching kitchen, quiet area, workshop, new office space and a one-to-one room, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.