Richard Luscombe Argyle Community Trust has been awarded a transformational Youth Investment Fund grant to extend its youth service offer to young people across Plymouth. It is welcome news for young people supported by the charity who will benefit from the generous funding and means over 2,000 more young people will be supported per year when the project is complete.
The fund grant is enabling the Trust to develop a suite of exciting youth provision at the new Brickfields Hub redevelopment for the communities of Devonport, Stonehouse and beyond.
The Trust is one of 44 youth projects in England to benefit from a Youth Investment Fund grant, announced by the funder, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the charity Social Investment Business, who is delivering the grant programme in partnership with Key Fund, National Youth Agency and Resonance. The Youth Investment Fund is part of the Government’s National Youth Guarantee to transform and level up opportunities for young people in England. The Youth Investment Fund, of over £300 million, aims to build, renovate, or extend youth service facilities, providing a minimum of 45,000 additional positive activities for young people aged between 11 and 18 – in the parts of the country where new spaces and new opportunities are most needed.
The Youth Investment Fund grants announced today are worth £70 million.
Over £90 million of grants were also announced to 43 youth services in March 2023 meaning a total of over £160 million has been invested in youth services across England so far and will benefit another 28,500 young people. More grants will be announced later this year.
The Youth Investment Grant will enable youth services, and charities like Argyle Community Trust to transform health, wellbeing, skills, and opportunities for young people. It is a ground-breaking opportunity to prioritise the needs of young people and deliver the life-changing services they need, creating a more equal society for future generations.
The Youth Investment Fund grant will transform the suite of youth provision services for young people. It means work can start on site on Friday, 1 September and the service should open its doors to young people by late spring 2024.
The new service will provide young people with vital provision in an inclusive and adaptable space which will be a hive of activity, learning, engagement, and activities all within walking distance of its users for generations to come. The provisions will include an open access youth hub to promote activity, engagement, and community cohesion, a state-of-the-art e-sports arena, and classroom spaces for learning. It will also facilitate additional targeted youth engagement programmes like Kicks Town which aims to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, whilst supporting young people’s personal development and encouraging them to participate in training and qualifications.
The suite of youth provision will be delivered in partnership with Plymouth City Council and Devonport Community Leisure Ltd and is also generously funded by the Community Ownership Fund.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: “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.
“These next 44 youth centres will give 12,000 more young people the opportunity to access these activities, building on the first tranche of Youth Investment Fund investment that is seeing new projects like the Alt Valley Communiversity opening in Liverpool.
“We will make sure every young person has someone to talk to, something to do, somewhere to go.”
Nick Temple, CEO for Social Investment Business, that leads the delivery partnership said: “The Youth Investment Fund is all about prioritising the needs of young people in England and creating a more equal society for future generations. It is wonderful to see how the fund is already transforming young people’s opportunities to experience the joy of local youth services designed for, and by, young people. Today’s announcement means another 12,000 young people can access quality, sustainable and accessible youth clubs.
“It is so exciting to see the first Youth Investment Fund projects open their doors to young people, giving them every opportunity to make friends, have fun, discover their passions, and thrive. And it is just the start: thousands more young people will benefit from new or expanded local youth services, supporting their wellbeing, and helping them gain vital skills for life and work.”
Welcoming the Youth Investment Fund grant, Argyle Community Trust Chief Executive Officer Mark Lovell said: “This is an extremely exciting and historic period in the history of Argyle on and off the pitch. We are delighted to have been awarded the Youth Investment Fund Grant to help our charity deliver vital and targeted new provision for young people in the city.
“The fund will make a significant difference to the lives of young people in the Devonport and wider Plymouth communities, and we are looking forward to moving the project forward and giving them access to the opportunities and life chances they deserve.”
You can find out more about the Youth Investment Fund via the website Youth Investment Fund and you can learn more about the Brickfields Hub redevelopment via the dedicated microsite https://www.pafc.co.uk/brickfields-development.
