Stuart Anderson MP hopes that government funding for youth facilities will support the restoration of Ludlow Youth Centre. He has taken up the issue with Stephanie Peacock MP, who is the Government's Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth.
Ludlow Youth Centre provided a range of community and youth services before it suffered structural damage from a road traffic incident on 28th April 2025.
Services included a dedicated youth club, early help for families, and various community support services. Shropshire Council issued a statement on 23rd July 2025, stating that it was awaiting "further information" on "repair and rebuild works."
Stuart hopes that Ludlow Youth Centre will benefit from a "fair share" of more than £145 million investment in youth programmes that the government has announced.
This includes £85 million for youth facilities. In July, Stuart welcomed initial government investment for Shropshire Council to review and improve its local offer for young people.
As Stuart reported, Shropshire was been named as one of twelve councils to take part in a peer review programme, which provides local authorities with the opportunity to access an expert review of their local youth offer.
In his letter to the Minister, Stuart stated: "It is crucial that rural areas like my constituency of South Shropshire benefit from the new government investment due to be announced later in the Summer,"
In his letter, Stuart has also urged the Minister to match the last government's investment in youth services that stood at over £500 million.
In July, it was revealed that £79.4 million of the government's planned £145 million investment in youth services had already been allocated by the last government.
Ministers have since stated that the scale of future funding will be set out when the National Youth Strategy is published. This is expected later in the Summer, after a national listening exercise with young people concluded on 6th April 2025.
Stuart promoted the national listening exercise, which enabled young people to have their say on the support services, facilities, and opportunities that they would like to see in local areas including Shropshire.
At the time, Stuart said:
"I want to ensure that as many young people as possible have their say on what matters to them, especially those from rural areas like South Shropshire that are often forgotten about in decision-making."
Ministers have claimed that they want the details in the upcoming strategy to be "shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector."
Stuart's campaign is the latest in his plan to support local communities in South Shropshire. This means understanding the challenges that they face and campaigning for meaningful change to ensure they can improve.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
"Access to youth services can have a transformational impact on young people. It can boost their skills, resilience, and confidence to excel in life. It is crucial that rural areas like South Shropshire benefit from new government investment that is due to be announced later in the summer, after a national listening exercise that I promoted closed in April. I also believe that the government should match the previous government's level of investment in youth services, which stood at more than £500 million. I hope that this investment will support the restoration of Ludlow Youth Centre, which provided a range of community and youth services including a dedicated youth club, early help for families, and community support services."
