Multimillion-pound boost for Midlands youth clubs

Youth clubs across the region are to receive large grants to improve their services

Five youth centres across the West Midlands are set to benefit from a multimillion-pound boost to improve their facilities.

It comes as part of the government's Youth Investment Fund to provide one million extra hours of youth services in anti-social behaviour hotspots across England.

Centres in Crewe, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Shrewsbury and Redditch have been selected for grants.

The region will receive more than £14m.

Facilities set to benefit include community youth spaces and youth centres to support the wellbeing of children and teenagers.

Culture secretary Lucy Frazer announced the new funding

"I want every young person to have the opportunity to access the kinds of life-changing activities which expand their horizons and allow them to develop vital life skills," said Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer.

More than £8m will be given to Onside Youth Zones to redevelop the Oak Street Car Park into the Crewe Youth Zone.

The site is set to serve 4,000 young people.

In Stoke-on-Trent, YMCA North Staffordshire will be given a grant of nearly £2m for a renovation and extension project to support an additional 150 young people per week.

Sea Cadets are among the groups set to receive extra funding to help young people

In Ladywood, Birmingham, The Marine Society and Sea Cadets - which works with more than 8,500 volunteers - has been chosen to receive £2.1m.

A bespoke youth project for people with special educational needs or disabilities - the SYA in Shrewsbury - is set to get more than £1.5m to deliver an alternative curriculum to young people on Educational Health Care Plans (EHCPs) who have been excluded from school.

In Redditch, Your Ideas in The Den will benefit from an additional £816,260 to build a new arts and gaming room.

In a further move, the Government has also approved £16.9m of funding to expand access to uniformed youth groups, aiming to create 20,000 new places for young people aged between 10-18 across the country.

The On The Water outreach programme run by the Sea Cadets helps more than 1,2000 disadvantaged and vulnerable young people, young refugees, asylum seekers and young carers

The groups to get funding are:

• The Scout Association

• Girlguiding

• Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade

• Girls' Brigade

• Boys' Brigade

• Marine Society & Sea Cadets

• Volunteer Police Cadets

• St John Ambulance