Largest single Successful Scottish Government funding bid for Perth & District YMCA

The Y Centre project, has received excellent news from the Scottish Government’s Youth Work Facilities Improvement Fund administered by YouthLink Scotland with confirmation of vital financial support to build an Internal Climbing and Bouldering Wall within the existing YMCA building in Perth town centre. This £130,900 grant is the largest single award by the Government Fund across Scotland this year. The Fund marked the launch of the Scottish Youth Strategy with a total of £5,000,000 awarded across Scotland.

The Y Centre project involves the redevelopment of the former St Andrews Church in the city centre to provide a range of much needed facilities for young people in and around Perth. The climbing wall will supplement the existing IT suite and the full development will also see the addition of a café, crèche, play area, multi-purpose activity space, as well as training and conference facilities with full disability access throughout. The project is being developed with the support of Indigo Project Solutions.

Chief Executive of the Perth YMCA, Ian Marr said “This is tremendous news. Building the Climbing Wall is the next stage of the redevelopment of The Y Centre. When we did market research the Climbing Wall was the part of the redevelopment that Young People were most excited about. A new climbing facility in the area will be available to Young People from all backgrounds providing an opportunity to learn and develop new skills whilst participating in this increasingly popular sport. We are delighted to receive this boost to our ambitious fundraising to create a Y Centre which is bursting with activity and opportunity for local Young People. We are very grateful to those who administered the Fund and made the award, especially the folk at Youthlink who worked very hard with us.”

The YMCA is open to everyone in the community, although it has a particular emphasis on supporting Young People in their development by providing “somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to.”