Young people in Gamesley will have somewhere to spend their spare time away from local parks and street corners.

It's in response to claims that there is nothing for 11 to 16-year-olds to do in the evenings.

The Hangout Club is being launched at the Geoffrey Allen Centre in Gamesley.

It starts on Tuesday 11 January from 6pm to 7pm with a group for 7 to 11-year-olds, then after that from 7pm to 8pm for 11 to 13-year-olds.

On Wednesday 12 January, there will be a group for 14 to 17-year-olds from 7.30pm to 9pm.

Helen Thornhill, from Move More Glossop, ran some summer clubs in the area and she was told that there is nothing for young people to do in the evening.

She secured some funding from Derbyshire Police and High Peak Borough Council leader Anthony McKeown and spoke to local community representatives.

"The first sessions will mostly be the kids telling us what they want to do at the club," Helen told the Chronicle.

"We’ve got a couple of XBoxes and PlayStations, we’ve got a disco and a tuck shop and there’s lots of activities they can take part in. But if they just want to sit with their mates looking at their mobiles phones that’s fine too. There will be trained adults available they can confide in.

"Each session costs £1. There are very few rules as we don’t want to exclude anyone from attending, but we do expect them to respect the building, the volunteers and each other.

“The plan is that if the Gamesley Hangout Club is a success we hope to expand to Whitfield or Hadfield. It’s their club so they can chose what they want to do there.

"If there’s an interest in boxing or martial arts, then we will being bring in people to provide the relevant training. Some youngsters aren’t interested in structured events, such as football training, so it’s important they get to choose what they want to do." 

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