Government regeneration grant saves Kent youth centre

A youth centre serving a deprived area of Thanet has been saved from closure after being awarded £535,000 in government funding.

More than 1,000 young people were supported by Pie Factory Music last year. Picture: AdobeStock

The funding, awarded through the Pride in Place Programme - which supports the regeneration of deprived communities - will enable Pie Factory Music to secure the freehold of Ramsgate Youth Centre and prevent the building being sold by Kent County Council. 

The decision follows 15 months of campaigning by local supporters to protect the centre, which provides the only dedicated youth space in Thanet.

• Practice: Musical youth projects

• Analysis: The decline of open access youth work and how to turn it around

For more than a decade, the centre has offered a safe place for eight- to 25-year-olds, providing counselling, employment advice, life-skills sessions and support for young refugees, alongside creative and music projects. Last year, it supported almost 1,000 children and young people.

The grant will come from Ramsgate’s £20 million Pride in Place allocation, but the funding will not be released until April 2026.

To bridge the gap until then, Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board – a local decision-making body made up of councillors, community leaders and residents – has backed proposals to provide the charity with the money in advance from its reserves.

The decision to advance the grant still has to be approved by Thanet Council’s cabinet.

Brian Horton, interim chair of the Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board, said the decision would give Pie Factory Music long-term stability.  

“You cannot thrive if your young people feel left behind,” he added. 

The funding comes with conditions, including a commitment to keep the site in use for youth services, maintain the site in good condition, and reinvest any generated income back into youth provision. 

The council will place a legal claim on the building for 20 years meaning they can recover the grant or take legal action if the terms of the grant are broken. 

Pie Factory Music said the decision marked “a hugely hopeful moment” for the future of the youth centre.

The funding decision follows years of cuts that has seen thousands of youth centres close across England. According to the YMCA, funding for youth services in England has fallen more than 70% since 2010 – with centres in coastal communities among the hardest hit.