Preston city centre charity, Foxton, has today launched its Furnish Foxton appeal, asking for crucial donations from businesses and members of the public to help furnish its new £2.4m Youth and Community Centre.

The brand-new Foxton centre will significantly increase its offering of services and make a lasting impact for young people in the city. The centre is due to open in May 2025.

Foxton has been providing vital youth and community support services in the Avenham area since it was founded in 1969 by Revered Brian Foxton.

The construction of the new centre is being funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)’s Youth Investment Fund, following a successful bid in 2023. The old centre was demolished in 2024 with building work well underway.

While the DCMS funding will facilitate the design and construction of the building, Foxton estimates that furnishing the building with equipment and fittings will cost an additional £65,000.

Foxton is calling on local businesses and residents to provide support for this through its Furnish Foxton appeal.

Rhiannon, 18, who has used Foxton’s Youth Centre since she was eight, and who is now a member of the Youth Forum, said: “The Youth Forum, along with young people that use the centre, were involved from the beginning.”

“Designing the new centre, it was always a case of ‘what do young people want’ rather than ‘what do we think young people want’.

“It gives local young people the ambition to do more and change more in the world, it sends the message that they are important and that they can achieve more than maybe they thought they could.”

The new centre greatly increases the range of services available, offering the flexibility to run multiple group activities simultaneously alongside dedicated quiet and wellbeing spaces.

A larger main hall will be equipped for a range of indoor group activities such as dance classes or community meetings, meanwhile a large, first-floor balcony will provide a safe, enclosed outdoor area for community events, socialising, and relaxation.

To address the problem of digital exclusion in the area, a digital training hub will be equipped with computers that can be used for accessing online services, developing digital skills and accessing support with things like homework, careers opportunities, housing and more.

There will also be a kitchen with modern facilities where staff, volunteers and young people can come together to prepare fresh meals, a gaming room and wellbeing space as designed by young people, and other functional areas including offices and a reception area.