Could this super youth centre solve Carlisle’s teenage crime problem?
The teenagers themselves, however, complain that there is nowhere else for them to go and they have nothing better to do. But in one town in England they seem to have come up with a solution to both these complaints. And now there are moves to try it in Carlisle. The Bolton Lads’ and Girls’ Club is a youth club based in the centre of Bolton. But it is no ordinary youth club. While some youth clubs are just rooms in church halls, this one is based in new, purpose-built premises constructed at a cost of £5 million. While some have nothing more than a table-tennis table and a stereo in one corner, this one also boasts a fitness gym, a boxing gym, a performing arts studio, all-weather sports pitches, a hot meals cafe, arts and crafts rooms, an indoor climbing wall and a cyber cafe. And while some youth clubs are open one or two nights a week, this one is open on weekdays from 3pm to 10pm and all day at weekends and during school holidays – all the hours when schools are shut. It is immense
