By IW Observer.co.uk
A new base for Network Ryde is a step closer, with the project, to renovate St Thomas’ Church, beginning to see the green shoots of progress.
A series of workshops are being held by Brightspace Architects with Network Ryde young people, to ensure that the new home is everything that everyone wants it to be. These workshops will be continuing over the next few weeks, having already started.
In 2021, Ryde Town Council bought St Thomas’ Church specifically for Network Ryde, to allow the growth of Ryde’s youth provision to continue. The service is the town council’s award-winning youth service, offering support, advice and guidance to all young people, along with supplying a safe space at their youth centre in Ryde.
Network Ryde manager, Bex Swan, said: “There is a whole world of possibilities for Network Ryde at St Thomas’ Church! The team at Brightspace are harnessing the ideas that the young people have and we are very excited to see what the final designs are going to be. With an experienced architect team in place we are very happy with the way that things are going and everyone is looking forward to seeing the results as quickly as possible.”
Ryde’s Mayor, Michael Lilley, added: “Network Ryde is one of the jewels in the crown for Ryde Town Council, providing an incredibly important service for the young people in Ryde. The move to St Thomas’ Church will allow Bex and her fantastic team to open that service even wider and for more young people to benefit from the wonderful work that they do. This is a very exciting step!”
Isle of Wight Observer