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The New Futures Centre, in Hilton Road, features a performance hall with a stage, music recording studios, an art room and work shop, youth fitness suite and a café-style chill-out area plus an outside all-weather court that can be used for sports such as football, basketball, netball and tennis.
The new centre has just been handed over to Oxfordshire County Council by the Stepnell construction team. Stepnell also carried out the mechanical and electrical installation work at the single-storey state-of-the-art building, including fitting eco-friendly solar panels on the roof. It has been built on the site of the former Banbury Youth Centre which was smaller and unable to house the full range of sporting, performance, music and art facilities offered by the New Futures Centre.
The new building was completed on time, despite construction being halted by nearly a month because of last December’s snow and freezing conditions.
“This is a superb facility for young people in the Banbury area and we are proud to have helped create it,” says Stepnell managing director Mark Wakeford. “Our team worked hard to deliver the building on time and to a very high standard. They rose brilliantly to the challenge posed by last winter’s severe weather, successfully completing the building on schedule thanks to the close working partnership between the Stepnell team, their client, Oxfordshire County Council, and consultants Oxford Architects, SBG, Northcroft and Scott White & Hookins.”
Cllr Louise Chapman, Oxfordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: "This will be a fabulous facility for Banbury and a real gem.
“It is living proof of the county council's continued support for services for young people and I look forward to the people of the town feeling the benefits of this brand-new facility. I am sure it will become a real focal point for young people in the town."
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