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THE centrepiece of a $10.68 million program to revitalise one of Tamworth’s most disadvantaged areas has been unveiled.
About 200 people turned out for the official opening of the new state-of-the-art Tamworth Regional Youth Centre yesterday morning.
The Youthie, located in Quinn St, Coledale, caters for the 12 to 18 age group and features a variety of learning and recreational facilities.
The $3 million drop-in centre is considered pivotal in breaking the cycle of crime and unemployment that has beset some younger residents.
The project comprises not just the youth centre, but extensive roadworks and infrastructure upgrades to provide for 58 new affordable housing lots.
Speeches from local dignitaries, including Tamworth mayor Col Murray and New England MP Barnaby Joyce, were interspersed with performances by talented musicians and dancers.
Aboriginal elder Aunty Yvonne Kent said the facility would inspire a sense of pride and ownership among the area’s residents.
“It will be a great thing because too many of our kids are falling through the cracks and we want to see them do something worthwhile,” she said.
“To have something over this side of town that they can go to and have ownership of, I think, is fantastic.”
Cr Murray said the program of works through the federal government’s $10.68 million grant provided council with a tremendous “opportunity for community renewal”.
“The aim has been to revitalise a neighbourhood with a well-planned, attractive built environment – one with improved infrastructure, better access to services, greater livability and, ultimately, scope for 58 new lots for affordable housing,” he said.
“We can now say that phase one – the civil works – has been achieved in Coledale and it would not have been possible for council to do this without the federal funds through the Building Better Regional Cities program.”
Mr Joyce said the centre would draw people in from not just Tamworth, but right across the New England and North West.
“It rebuilds and reinforces that sense of community amongst all Aboriginal people,” he said.