Calls for youth centre to reopen in town

The former school once provided education facilities for 160 boys before it closed and became a youth centre in the 1960s

There are calls for a youth centre in a Cotswolds town to reopen at a former school after young people were left without a permanent place to meet.

Gloucestershire residents are being urged to have their say over the future of the former Winchcombe Old Boys School building.

The school closed in 1963, and the site was then used as a youth club until 2020, when it shut due to lack of maintenance.

County councillor Lynden Stowe said: "All options are up for consideration so I would encourage anyone with an interest in the site to attend the drop-in event, where you can find out more and contribute ideas."

Winchcombe's young people have been left without a dedicated and suitable space to call their own, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports, and have only been able to meet at various temporary premises.

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) said all options were under consideration, including bringing the site back into use, or selling it.

No decisions on the building's future have yet been made and there are no plans at any stage of development.

'Excited about the potential'

A drop-in event will be held at the Old Boys School, where county council staff can answer questions, on Wednesday between 15:00 and 17:00 GMT.

Gemma Madle, a Tewkesbury Borough councillor for Winchcombe, was a qualified youth worker in the town for more than a decade.

She said Winchcombe's young people needed a permanent space.

“Those of us in Winchcombe who have long been advocating to GCC for the need for permanent space for young people to meet in are excited about the potential this offers for our area,” she said.

“With the support of our town council, we hope to help GCC realise the potential of this important community asset by breathing life back into the building and reopening it for local youth work, providing a dedicated space for young people that has been lacking since the building’s closure."