YOUNG people from Cam and Dursley are a step closer to their dream of a new youth centre after officially taking the keys for their new hub.

Stevenson Building Contractors Ltd officially handed over the property to Cam and Dursley Youth Forum on Tuesday, November 4.

The project will now move from the construction phase into a period of refurbishment, funded by a Big Lottery Fund grant, in preparation for next year’s grand opening.

Dursley Tabernacle URC, in conjunction with Dursley Town Council, have been working together since 2012 to create a new centre for young people in the Old Parsonage, in Parsonage Street, Dursley.

Members of Cam and Dursley Youth Forum have been involved in the planning of the centre from its earliest stages and met with Terry Stevenson on Wednesday, November 5, to thank him for his hard work, after collecting the keys the previous day.

The church are also delighted to announce the receipt of a grant for £7,019 from the Big Lottery Fund, which will pay for some of the equipment at Vibe.

It was Carole Allen, Development Worker at Dursley Tabernacle URC, who applied for the grant with help from other members of the partnership team.

It will be spent on computers, a large presentation screen, internet facilities for the work-space, leisure equipment like a pool table and kitchen equipment for the proposed Youth Cafe.

She said: “This has been an exciting week for all of us. Our dream is becoming a reality.”

Members of the Youth Forum are glad to see their plans finally coming to fruition.

Dursley resident and member of the Youth Forum Beth Monday said: “We are all really excited that this amazing project has finally come together.

“This is a big step for the youth community in Dursley – finally having a place of our own.”

DTC’s clerk, Helen Bojaniwska, has worked hard with the church and Youth Forum and is thrilled to see the results.

She said: “I am delighted to have played a part, along with many partners from the community, in fulfilling the council’s ambition to provide much-needed facilities for young people in the town.

“I am looking forward to working with young people to shape the services that they would like to see in the new centre.”

The £380,000 construction phase of the project, which covered the youth centre and essential work on the church premises, was funded by DTC and Dursley Tabernacle URC, with contributions from Sainsbury’s, St Modwen, Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl, Dursley Youth Centre Action Group, Allchurches Trust, Renishaw, West Midlands Synod of the United Reformed Church and Rationel Windows.

The Big Lottery Fund, formally established in 2006, is responsible for handing out 40 per cent of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.

The fund is committed to bringing improvements to communities by rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK.