Green light for £1.5m Shrewsbury youth club plans

The new youth club, to be built on the site of SYA’s current base in Upton Lane in the Monkmoor area of Shrewsbury, will enable the charity to grow and improve on the services it provides to young people in the county.

The youth association announced the project earlier this year, after securing a £1.5m grant from the Youth Investment Fund and a 99-year lease of the site from Shropshire Council under a community asset transfer.

The council has now granted permission for the development, saying it will “much better serve the needs of the charity going forward”.

A report by planning officer Jane Raymond says there has been a youth club on the site since 1987.

The current demountable buildings have been in situ since 2008, under a temporary planning permission which was renewed in 2018.

The report says: “The use of this site to provide youth club accommodation has been the established use of this site for over 30 years. Its continued use for that purpose is considered to be acceptable in principle.

“It is considered that the scale and design of the proposed building and the chosen materials are acceptable having regard to the context of the site and existing surrounding development, and that the development would enhance the appearance of the site and have no adverse impact on the character and appearance of the street scene.”

One objection was received from a resident, who said he and others were concerned about anti-social behaviour.

The report says: “One of the issues raised on behalf of existing residents refers to anti-social behaviour by youth centre members and an adverse impact on the neighbourhood particularly if the numbers increase.

“It is considered that anti-social behaviour of youths in the neighbourhood cannot be attributed to the existing or proposed youth club and that an improved facility would hopefully have a positive impact.”