A renamed and refurbished youth and community centre is the latest development in the rejuvenation of the Durning Road area of Liverpool.
Edge Hill Youth and Community Centre – known locally as The Boysie – will reopen on Friday 20 November. It was closed between June and October with the centre temporarily relocating to the Jack Webster pavilion. The refurbishment cost £400,000 fromthe councilis capital funds ring -fenced for this scheme as a part of the wider Edge Hill regeneration project.
The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Tony Concepcion, will be guest of honour on Friday when he will unveil a plaque to mark the reopening of the centre
The centre, which has been based on its present site since 1963 has seen tens of thousands of young people through its doors over the years.
To strengthen its connection with the local community it has been renamed the ‘Edge Hill Youth and Community Centre’ Chair of the management committee Peter Brennan said: “It has been a long hard slog in the planning and development to get to this point as we have always maintained our commitment to remain embedded in the local community.
“We started life as a boys only youth club in the days when only boys were catered for and then a youth club in later years catering for both boys and girls. Now our emphasis is to serve and cater for young people and the wider local community for years to come”
Centre manager Anne Devin said “We are proud of our newly refurbished centre that will enable us to provide exciting, up to date, services, facilities and programmes for the whole community in a centre that’s fit for purpose.”
The refurbished centre is the latest in a succession of new developments along Durning Road since 2010. These include the homes for a pound and Own Place schemes on adjoining Arnside Road; the saving and redevelopment of St Cyprian church and the conversion of the former fire station and Shipperies pub into new homes.
Local Councillor Nathalie Nicholas said: ” In 2010 the area around Durning Road was in a sorry state. The housing needed improvement, old buildings stood derelict and any government funding that could have helped was cut.
“Since then a series of schemes has breathed new life into this street. We’re delighted that Edge Hill Youth and Community Centre is reopening and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
• The refurbishment work, which was carried out by Whitfield and Brown included, among other works, the replacement of the roof and cladding to external walls; the installation of new doors and windows; new kitchen fittings; a replacement heating system and new ceilings and redecoration.
