Bolton: Vacant Picture House could be turned into drop-in centre

The plans were put to Bolton Council by the Youth Harmony Group, which aims to support young people across the borough from disadvantaged backgrounds.

If approved, they will transform the empty space once occupied by the Picture House cinema on Bradshawgate into a new space where youngsters can drop-in and work with Youth Harmony Group volunteers to help realise their full potential in the creative arts.

Bolton Harmony Project opens its Picture House Project to help families in need

A statement from the group said: “The plan is for the charity to use the site as a drop-in centre for supporting young people in finding employment.

“There is an intention to serve food and beverage on a coffee morning basis and it is expected that there will be some fixed office facilities require.”

The plans include a lobby, kitchen and office (Image: BWP Consultants)

The new drop-in centre could prove to be extremely useful to the young people of Bolton, which suffered from a particularly poor rate of youth unemployment during the pandemic.

Though a corner has now been turned and the number of young people on Universal Credit is falling, during the worst of the Covid-19 crisis, youth unemployment soared by 109 per cent.

As businesses closed and jobs were lost across the country, areas with high levels of deprivation like Bolton were hit especially hard by the ensuing economic storm.

This meant that 2,973 of the borough’s 18-24-year-olds were looking for work in January of last year, compared with 1,549 in 2019.

But various efforts have been made by both public agencies and charities to help youngsters find meaningful employment since then, with the new centre potentially adding another facility to those on offer to help them.

ALSO READ: How Bolton is joining together to help YOU - including the first Warm Hubs

This will also help under 12s to cope with the ever mounting cost-of-living crisis.

The new drop-in centre could also be key to the revival of Bradshawgate, which has long been blighted by empty lots, closed shops and the concerns about anti-social behaviour that often accompany this.

The plans will be open for consultations until December 8 this year after which Bolton Council will make a decision as to whether or not to approve the scheme.