Shropshire Star

Move to safeguard future of Ludlow youth centre

Ludlow councillors have moved to safeguard the future of a youth centre amid increasing fears the building may be sold off or used for something else.

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Ludlow Town Council has applied to have the centre in Lower Galdeford officially registered as a community asset, which will mean it is safe for 12 months as sweeping changes are made to youth services in the county.

The council also unanimously agreed it would express interest in having the building transferred from Shropshire Council into the town council's ownership.

The move comes after concerns raised by the area's four Shropshire councillors. From April, Shropshire Council will no longer be providing youth services directly but instead commissioning services from other providers.

Councillors Tracey and Richard Huffer, Andy Boddington and Vivienne Parry told Ludlow Town Council there was no guarantee new service providers will still use the centre – in which case there was every possibility it may be sold off or converted into offices.

Some rooms in the centre are already office space.

Mrs Huffer, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow East and chairman of Ludlow Youth Partnership, said: "The council made the right decision. Shropshire Council has said it has no plans to sell the youth centre but it could change its mind at any time.

"Our youth centre was funded by European and local money to help the young people of Ludlow. It is vital to helping youngsters get a good start in life.

"The youth work at the centre pays dividends by dealing with problems and giving young people confidence, especially if they have had a challenging start to life."

She added that neither registering the building as a community asset, nor expressing interest in a transfer, committed the council to any action, but she said it "opened up options".

Council clerk Gina Wilding said the move meant that if anything did happen to threaten the future of the centre in the near future, town councillors "would be in a position to take action".

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