Council plans £3m Darwen Youth Centre expansion

Adding side extensions and a first floor to the Knott Street building would see the youth facility more than double in size, growing to 7,100 sq ft.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has submitted plans to upgrade and expand the Darwen Youth Centre. Finances for the £3m project will come from the council’s £8m award from the government’s Youth Investment Fund.

Designed by John Puttick Associates, the new area will provide ample space for a DJ and recording studio, a gaming zone, a creative workshop, and a wellbeing area.

The proposals also include adjustments to the outdoor sports area and provision of a 22-space car park.

Cassidy + Ashton is the planning consultant for the project. The team also includes Booth King Partnership, NOVO Integration, and Pennine Ecological.

The council is also working with Cassidy + Ashton and John Puttick Associates on another youth centre project. Plans have also been submitted to extend Audley and Queens Park Children’s Centre in Blackburn – a £1m project.

The children’s centre’s 1,100 sq ft expansion would allow space for a youth area operated by youth-charity IMO. The group would offer employment aid, mental health support, and rehabilitation services.

The Darwen Youth Centre and Audley and Queens Park extensions are two of the projects receiving the Youth Investment Fund awards. The other two Blackburn with Darwen schemes are transforming Blackburn’s first power station into an employment skills hub and building a new youth hub in Shadsworth.

Cllr Julie Gunn, deputy leader at Blackburn with Darwen Council, described the submission of the two planning applications as “a really exciting next step for our plans to improve our facilities for young people living across Blackburn with Darwen”.

Gunn praised the quick turnaround of the Darwen Youth Centre and Audley and Queens Park projects as part of the reason for Blackburn with Darwen’s successful YIF bid.

“One of the real strengths of our bids was that we had projects that could be brought forward quickly alongside really strong partnership working, something Blackburn with Darwen is renowned for and I was proud to see in action,” she said.

“All four projects will be truly transformational and we can’t wait to see the difference they will make.”

You can learn more about the Darwen Youth Centre proposals by searching application reference number 10/23/0861 on the Blackburn with Darwen Council planning portal. The reference number for the Audley and Queens Park project is 10/23/0858.