Horizon Youth Zone is brand new youth charity. It will be a state-of-the-art facility open to all young people aged 8 to 19, and up to 25 for those with with additional needs. The Youth Zone will provide thousands of young people from across North East Lincolnshire with the opportunity to discover their passion and their purpose.
Located in the heart of Grimsby, Horizon Youth Zone aims to engage and inspire young people to try positive new activities and raise their aspirations. The Youth Zone is based on the successful OnSide Youth Zones model and will open 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.
Annual membership will cost £5. Horizon will be open to young people aged 8-19, and up to 25 for those with additional needs. Once the Youth Zone is built, members will be able to register to become a member by filling out the membership form on our website. For updates on membership please follow us on social media.
Annual membership for the Youth Zone will be £5, then members will pay 50p per visit which includes access to over 20 activities.
One critical factor in the success of the OnSide Youth Zone model is the voluntary relationship that exists between the Youth Zone and its members, i.e. the young people that attend do so because they choose to, and never because they have to. This is key to developing positive, healthy relationships between young people and the staff and volunteers – which enables the Youth Zone to deliver high quality, engaging youth work to those that need it most. It is also vital that the Youth Zone maintains its cover charge of 50p per session. Income from young people only amounts to around 10% of annual turnover but it is important as it creates a sense of value, ownership and equality.
With that being said, where members cannot afford membership the Youth Zone will cover costings as it is important that all young people have access and are not excluded.
Horizon Youth Zone is a purpose-built facility offering 20 activities every session, including sport, fitness, dance, arts, music, media and self-improvement. The Youth Zone includes a four-court sports hall with facilities for indoor badminton, football, netball and basketball and a separate indoor climbing wall. There is also a fitness suite with the latest gym equipment and an outdoor kick pitch. The centre includes a kitchen and café area where members can enjoy a hot meal for just £1, as well as dedicated areas for dance, music, film, and multi-media, arts and crafts, gaming and DJ-ing, martial arts and boxing.
Horizon Youth Zone is being delivered in partnership with OnSide, North East Lincolnshire Council and the local business community.
North East Lincolnshire Council, in partnership with the local business community, understood the need to bring a Youth Zone to Grimsby. Having seen the Youth Zone model in other towns and cities in England, they want to give young people from Grimsby and surrounding areas access to a Youth Zone and the benefits it can bring for the whole community.
Local young people play a key role in the development of the Youth Zone, click here to find out more about the Young People’s Development Group.
An OnSide Youth Zone costs approximately £10m to build, depending on which part of the country where it’s built. Horizon Youth Zone is being delivered in partnership with OnSide and North East Lincolnshire Council, supported by local businesses and philanthropists.
North East Lincolnshire Council have committed £3.75m towards the Youth Zone’s capital costs, which was awarded by Government as part of the Greater Grimsby Town Deal. North East Lincolnshire Council have also pledged to support the Youth Zone’s annual revenue costs.or the town centre.
In October 2020, Ørsted announced a £1 million donation to Grimsby Youth Zone.
As the Youth Zone develops, OnSide will continue to raise funds to cover the running costs via its network of private sector supporters and charitable trusts and grants.
The annual running costs for the Youth Zone will be approximately £1.3 million. This includes for example; staffing costs, equipment, support of volunteers (including DBS checks), insurance, maintenance and utilities.
The annual running costs are met through local authority support, local private sector supporters, charitable trusts and grants, and young people’s membership and entry fees.
OnSide is keen for every Youth Zone to be located in ‘neutral’ territory that all young people from the community can share and access. Horizon Youth Zone will be built in Grimsby Town Centre in the former West Haven Maltings and Migar House buildings which front the River Freshney (opposite Freshney Place Shopping Centre along Frederick Ward Way). The site was chosen as the preferred site for the Youth Zone due to its accessibility and transport links.
The annual running costs for the Youth Zone will be approximately £1.3 million. This includes for example; staffing costs, equipment, support of volunteers (including DBS checks), insurance, maintenance and utilities.
The annual running costs are met through local authority support, local private sector supporters, charitable trusts and grants, and young people’s membership and entry fees.
The Youth Zone model is based on the successful Bolton Lads and Girls Club (now BLGC), where a combination of revenue streams, including private sector funding, ensures its sustainability and over time allows the income streams to grow and diversify steadily, increasing the Youth Zone offer.
At the time of opening, OnSide ensures that each Youth Zone has three years revenue funding in place. This allows the new charity time to establish itself as a key part of the local youth offer and demonstrate the huge value it can provide to the lives of many of the town’s young people. Over the first three years, the Youth Zone, supported by its private sector-led Board, will develop new income sources and partnerships to allow its income to grow, in the same way that all OnSide Youth Zones have grown.
Horizon Youth Zone is a new charity and will be governed by the Board of Trustees. The Board will be private sector-led and made up of local business people and representatives from North East Lincolnshire Council, who as volunteers will ensure the new charity delivers for the young people of Grimsby. As Chair, Jason Stockwood will lead the board of the Youth Zone. The day-to-day management of the Youth Zone will be the responsibility of a team of paid staff, led by Chief Executive Lucy Ottewell who was recently appointed.
The Youth Zone will create mixture of over 50 full and part-time local jobs and generate 100 volunteering opportunities within the community.
Horizon Youth Zone will act as a platform to help grow the total offer, with the purpose of complementing and enhancing what is currently available for young people in Grimsby.
Youth Zones aim to work closely in partnership with other local voluntary and statutory organisations. Horizon might provide a new physical space for other organisations to deliver their activities or services to young people during evenings and weekends. Other local organisations find they can reach more young people through the Youth Zone membership.
The Horizon staff team will take care to consult with existing local organisations as the sessions for Junior and Senior clubs are being determined, to avoid clashes and so that the Youth Zone is providing an additional offer.
Horizon Youth Zone is keen to work in partnership with as many existing youth groups as possible. To find out more about working in partnership with email enquiries@horizonyouthzone.org.
One of the major strengths of a Youth Zone is the way young people from different areas and backgrounds are able to mix in a neutral space. Evidence from existing Youth Zones suggests that members will mix with their peers from different backgrounds, as well as with young people from a range of local areas in the borough as long as the offer is good enough.
All Youth Zones provide for young people with a range of additional needs up to the age of 25, through inclusive activities alongside the mainstream offer. Sessions are adapted for young people with additional needs and are open for a wide range of young people to access; including those with mild learning difficulties, through to those with more complex needs such as visual impairment and physical disabilities. Young people are given the opportunity to access a range of activities, including boxing, trampolining, karaoke, arts and crafts, cooking, gaming and much more.
We believe the vast majority of young people want safe inspiring spaces to call their own, where they can make new friends and have fun. It is not our experience that bringing young people together drives anti-social behaviour and the impact of other Youth Zones in their local areas has been extremely positive with statistics showing that the Youth Zones have actually contributed towards the decrease in anti-social behaviour.
Horizon Youth Zone is a charity dedicated to providing North East Lincolnshire’s young people with the opportunity to discover their passion and their purpose. Located in the centre of Grimsby, Horizon will be a safe, inclusive and vibrant space, providing over 20 fun and engaging activities every session for thousands of young people.
Whilst the Youth Zone is under development please send correspondence to:
Wilkin and Chapman LLP Solicitors, Cartergate House, 26 Chantry Lane, Grimsby, DN31 2LJ