£5m Youth Zone’s splash of colour

AN artist’s impression of Oldham Youth Zone

OLDHAM’S new £5 million youth centre will have striking “chameleon” cladding and a solar wall.

The cladding will change colour from rust orange to emerald green depending from where it is viewed.

And the large, black solar wall will provide heating and reduce running costs at the centre in Egerton Street.

Other features include a central street with a roof of translucent, coloured panels, and a first floor balcony.

Facilities include a sports hall, outdoor pitch, boxing gym, fitness room and climbing wall.

There will also be a dance studio, small cinema area, cafe, covered patio and meeting rooms.

The borough received a £5 million Big Lottery grant for Oldham Youth Zone which will be built at the former Marjory Lees health centre.

Young people have been closely involved in its development and went to London to meet architect Mike Davies to oversee the proposals.

A planning application has been submitted to demolish the health centre and replace it with the two and three-storey building which will be called Mahdlo — Oldham backwards.

The bulldozers will move in this summer with the new building due to open next year.

Councillor Kay Knox, cabinet member for children, young people and families, said: “The youth council members have done an awful lot of work on this. It’s a modern building for our young people done entirely by them — their ideas, their development.

“They worked closely with an architect in London and they are extremely excited about the development.

“A big part of this is that it will be run by volunteers.

“The young people that are now on the youth council will be the first volunteers to help run the centre.”