£1.4 MILLION improvements to a facility in Holme Wood will “give young people fair access to facilities and increase their opportunities.”

Funding to improve the TDF Centre in the heart of the estate was approved by Bradford Council last year, and is expected to be completed by Summer 2022.

The centre will deliver a range of public services from one site for the Holme Wood community, including an improved library and youth services.

The funds are being used to upgrade the building and remodel the space to enable a thriving community of mixed tenants who are able to provide much-needed health, leisure and youth services all from the same site.

The centre offers joined-up services for young people and families when and where they are most needed within their local area. The aim is to maximise the engagement of young people, build their confidence and aspirations and create a “positive cycle of opportunity” so they can fulfil their potential.

The work will create more office space in the building in order to bring together teams from the council’s neighbourhood and youth service, children’s prevention and early help services and Bradford District Health Trust and NHS providing community health and midwife services.

The library will be relocated within the centre and offer its existing services to the community but also benefit from having use of the internal courtyard to extend its activities for families.

Local Tong Councillors Alan Wainwright and Kausar Mukhtar have pushed for work on the centre for a number of years, and welcomed the progress being made.

Cllr Alan Wainwright (Lab, Tong) said: “It’s taken a huge amount of hard work from everyone involved, a real team effort, and it’s fantastic to see it starting to pay off with the new-look TFD Centre taking shape for the benefit of the local community of Holme Wood, in particular the children and young people who are our future.

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“My ward colleague Kausar and I have been working closely with the Council Executive and with officers for a very considerable period of time to ensure that this community facility and youth centre is saved for the next generation – and not only saved but improved and renovated fit for the future.

“I’m humbled by the work of all the services who will be using the building as I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact they are able to have on children’s lives. There is great talent and potential in the community of Holme Wood just like there is anywhere else and this is about giving the tools for young people to take part, be active and fulfil their great potential.”

Cllr Kausar Mukhtar (Lab, Tong) said: “It’s really positive to see the TFD Centre progressing well.

“Ultimately it’s about giving young people fair access to facilities and increasing their opportunities.

“The varied sports and leisure activities offer all kinds of things to do and importantly these are high-quality activities and have a social ethos running through them. As a number of the projects in the building have said, they can see real tangible benefits both for the young people taking part and for the wider community, in building a sense of belonging and pride in the area.

“This is an important investment in the young people of Holme Wood and the surrounding areas and I can’t wait to see the TFD Centre develop and go from strength to strength to benefit young people for years to come.”

Bradford Council’s Bradford South youth services team will be a key part of the newly upgraded centre, delivering a range of support to young people across the Tong ward.

The service is currently delivering health and wellbeing sessions in the local high school three days a week, as well as community based support linking the work delivered in school out to the local area, including a programme of outreach and detached youth work.

The council’s youth service is an integral part in the development of all the partners who use the TFD Centre, with the youth service having worked hard in recent years to bring on board partners who share the same vision and dedication to build opportunities for young people.

The council has held discussions with IntoUniversity, a national education charity who deliver programmes that support young people to attain either a university place or another chosen aspiration through academic support, mentoring and tailored programmes. IntoUniversity are set to occupy the former library space on a commercial rental agreement anticipated to be for a minimum of five years.

Ellie Rundle from IntoUniversity said: “Our new learning centre at the TFD Centre in Holme Wood is designed to inspire young people to harness the power of education to transform their lives.

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"Young people experiencing disadvantage are likely to have lost several months’ learning during the pandemic, and will be facing a more challenging jobs market and tougher economy, potentially knocking back their plans for tertiary education and entering the world of work. IntoUniversity centres work closely with local schools, colleges, universities and businesses to support young people to achieve their chosen aspirations. In 2020, 70 per cent of IntoUniversity’s school leavers gained a university place, compared to 26 per cent of students from similar backgrounds nationally.”

Dance United Yorkshire is another of the tenants looking forward to benefitting from the newly remodelled building. Dance United is a contemporary dance company specialising in social inclusion, with a range of intensive classes, weekly projects and one-off initiatives for all child age groups as well as adult women. Dance United’s aims to remove barriers to high quality arts including for the least privileged in society who might otherwise not get to participate.

Helen Linsell, Artistic and Executive Director at Dance United, said: “In Holme Wood, we deliver the ‘Resi/Dance’ programme which is a four-year community initiative funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Performance is at the heart of our work; providing opportunities for non-dancers from challenging circumstances to excel on professional stages.

"We work in partnership with a range of cross-sector organisations. Some of our young people are referred from the youth service or they also access the youth services. We have also delivered bespoke projects and classes with specific groups run by the youth service, for example the successful Build a Girl project.

"We are committed to improving access to high-quality arts and removing barriers for those who are the least engaged, reaching people of all ages across the Holme Wood estate and providing ongoing, meaningful interventions which increase confidence and self-esteem and improve transferable life skills. Our objective is also to improve the mental and physical health of people living in Holme Wood and to support the community in building more positive perceptions of the place.”

Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion housing group, works with the Youth Service and has just launched a new National Lottery funded project called the Youth Sports Project. This will provide free multi-sports sessions in the evenings for children and young people aged between 11 and 19. Clarion’s partner organisation Emerge will also be providing an indoor football session in the sports hall at the centre on Mondays during term times.

The Valley Project, based behind the TFD Centre on Stirling Crescent, provides a safe outdoor space for children and young people to meet, play and develop socially, emotionally and physically. The project works in partnership with the Youth Service and Outloud.

Lauren Batty, Director at Out Loud, said: “We have been working in partnership with the Youth Service and local organisations on a transition project called Holme Wood Moving Up. The proposed investment will help strengthen partnerships to create more of these sorts of opportunities on Holme Wood which will be fantastic news for young people and families.”

Local football club Holmewood Town is another success story for the area, operating out of the centre and going from strength to strength in true Roy of the Rovers fashion in the mere two years since it was founded.

It is a junior grassroots football club that provides football and fitness coaching sessions for boys and girls aged from 4 to 17 years old, using the football pitch and changing rooms at the TFD Centre.

Andrew Broughton from Holmewood Town said: “Believe it or not the successful story isn't about the football or trophies the players have won or the respect they have brought to the estate with their success on the pitch. It’s the success they have brought off the pitch that is our success story. All the players who participate take pride in keeping the area clean and litter free and show the utmost respect for the facilities. That engagement with our local young people, and the pride and mutual respect it has helped to build, is incredible.”

The £1.4m refurbishment and remodelling of the TFD Centre at Holme Wood was approved by the Council’s Executive in September 2020 and aims to be completed by summer 2022.