New delay to Strabane youth centre ‘kick in the teeth’

THE Minister for Education has confirmed that there may be delays in establishing a new youth centre for Strabane.

In a missive to SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan, Education Minister Paul Givan cited budgetary constraints as the main reason a timeline could not be fixed for any new development, this depite earlier assurances from a previous minister that the centre would already be open.

Daniel McCrossan was told by former Education Minister Michelle McIlveen that the department hoped that a new youth centre would be opened in the town by December 2023. However, no work has yet begun.

Minister Paul Givan in the letter stated, “Following the Department’s approval of the Business Case for the proposed youth centre in Strabane, the Education Authority (EA) began negotiations with the owner of the proposed site.

“However, due to the severely constrained Capital Budget position, the EA is unable to provide a timeline for the delivery of this scheme.”

Responding to this, Daniel McCrossan said, “I was told in July 2020 by the Education Authority this was a top priority and here we are 43 months later with no certainty when (or if) this will be delivered.”

“I was told by former Education Minister Michelle McIlveen in November 2021 that she hoped the youth centre would be open by December 2023. Not a single sod of turf has been turned.”

Mr McCrossan added, “The youth of Strabane deserve better. This latest delay is a kick in the teeth for young people in Strabane. They deserve investment and
they deserve state-of-the-art facilities.

“Young people in Strabane are crying out for this new youth centre, and I’m going to continue to lobby and press for its delivery.”