COVENTRY Boys and Girls Club (CBCG) attracted more than 600 seven to 16-year-olds across the summer after moving into a new £1.5 million state-of-the-art city centre building.
The club offers a wide range of formal and informal activities for under 17s, including boxing, youth club sessions, media and music workshops, Akido, ballet and Chemistry for All.
It also runs a bus pick-up and drop-off service for youngsters attending from Stoke Aldermoor, Spon End, Holbrooks and Hillfields.
After the club’s old premises in Whitefriars Lane was acquired for a massive student tower block student accommodation complex, the club moved nearby into its three-storey custom-built new home earlier this year.
CBGC’s new facilities include a boxing gym on the top floor, a youth activity room where members can play table tennis or games consoles, do homework or listen to music and develop photography skills, with the ground floor housing a café and a sports hall.
A new rooftop football pitch, due to be completed by summer 2020, has also been given the go-ahead by planners.
Paul Williams, Finance Director at CBCG, said: “The move to the new premises has definitely sparked a rise in not just young visitors, but also other community groups who are coming in to use the space for a small fee which will benefit the club in the long-term.
“The new facilities now offer something for everyone and is a vital tool in helping young people in deprived areas of the city to stay out of trouble.
“We currently run four return bus trips into different areas of the city for youngsters to attend on a Friday evening to make sure we are making the facility as accessible as possible, and if this summer’s visitor numbers are anything to go by, then this building really has laid the long-term foundations for success.”
CBGC’s facility is available to hire seven days a week, and provides youth activities plus food and drink on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Councillor Jim O’Boyle cabinet member for jobs and regeneration praised the club for its good work in the city.
Dina Parmar, commercial property partner at Band Hatton Button solicitors, has worked with CBGC over the past three years to secure the club’s long-term future at Whitefriars Street. She said: “The club’s new building will make a difference to so many young people’s lives and is a fantastic addition for the city centre and wider community.”
For further information go to: www.covboysandgirlsclub.co.uk
