Prince Andrew officially opens refurbished youth centre

His Royal Highness The Duke of York, KG, unveiled the opening plaque at Ealing Council’s Westside Young People’s Centre .

His Royal Highness - Prince Andrew - was greeted at the centre by Deputy Lieutenant, Robert Leader, along with The Mayor of Ealing, Councillor Mohammad Aslam, The Mayoress, Mrs Majeeda Aslam, and The Youth Mayor, Mr Sagar Ghelani.

The Duke of York was given a tour of the newly refurbished building by Assistant Director of Children’s Services, Marcella Phelan, meeting staff and young people along the way to learn about the centre’s programmes and state-of-the-art facilities.

At the culmination of the hour-long visit, His Royal Highness unveiled an opening plaque in the centre’s Mo Farah Hall. Addressing the crowd, he congratulated Westside for its inspirational work with young people in the community and praised the centre for its family-like atmosphere.

Westside is home to a wide range of youth-orientated services including health facilities, counselling, a training kitchen, sports activity area, craft room, gym and dance space, education and careers advice and a music studio. The centre has a strong focus on employability, with around 90% of its young people going on to employment, training, or apprentice schemes at the end of the programme.

The Duke of York opened the centre as part of his ongoing work to recognise and support those working with young people and provide them with alternative pathways to work. His Royal Highness heard presentations from pre-apprenticeship training graduates and met with users of the centre’s programmes who have gone on to successful employment.

Councillor Patricia Walker, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “The visit of His Royal Highness The Duke of York was a great opportunity for Ealing to showcase the splendid work being done with young people in the borough. Our Westside Young People’s Centre is a state-of-the-art facility. I am proud of the high standards of work achieved by staff and young people and the formal opening was a wonderful celebration of their many achievements. The staff and young people were clearly delighted to welcome The Duke to their centre.”

Following a £2.65million transformation, the centre opened in 2012 on the former site of W13 Youth Club. The upgrade work was made possible thanks to investments from the council and the previous labour government, as well as a £25,000 grant from Heathrow Community Trust.

The Westside Young People’s Centre is on Churchfield Road, Ealing W13 9NF. To find out more call 020 8825 7578.

19th February 2013