Sports Hall Refurbishment and New Climbing Wall

The Big Picture

We want to makes sure our facilities are here for at least another 20 years.  We've got plans to give our sports hall a complete refurb including upgrading and extending our climbing wall.  This is part of a bigger ambition to upgrade our premises - all so that the young people of Whitehaven have access to safe, friendly, positive, healthy activities for many years to come.

Who Benefits and How?

The Whitehaven Harbour Youth Project (WHYP) works with over 1100 young people each year aged 7-25.  In addition over 56 community groups use our facilities and services annually and we benefit from over 1000 hours of volunteer time.  We provide youth clubs, recreation, sports and outdoor activity opportunities in support of our mission statement:-

To give young people opportunities to develop their potential, to understand themselves 

and others, to enjoy life, and to contribute positively to the world.

The project is based in Harbour Ward in the local authority district of Copeland in West Cumbria.  Despite Copeland being ranked as having the second highest level of disposable income in the country due to the presence of the nuclear industry, it is also home to high levels of deprivation (Indices of Multiple Deprivation, 2015) and Harbour Ward is among the 10% most deprived wards in England.  In addition it is identified as being a ‘cold spot’ for social mobility (State of the Nation, 2017) meaning that young people in the area face many more challenges and barriers when it comes to reaching their full potential in life.

Here are just a few of the things our beneficiaries tell us:-

Our Plan 

Our unique sports hall and climbing facilities in the heart of Whitehaven Town centre are in need of a little tender loving care. Over ten years of use with thousands of young people enjoying the space each year have started to take their toll. The space is home to a thriving youth and adult table tennis clubs, climbing clubs, archery groups, sports sessions for community groups, football training, dodgeball, badminton and of course plenty of running around and cartwheels! That said we have to turn down numerous other bookings due to poor acoustics, limited climbing wall space, out dated heating, and damp. The plan is not only to provide the best possible facilities for our existing users but to be able to grow so that hundreds more members of the community can join in the fun. 

What We Need 

The cost of replacing the floor, improving acoustics, addressing damp issues, re painting, improving storage space, refurbishing and extending the climbing wall, upgrading the heating and lighting, and bringing all other fixtures and fittings up to spec is an estimated £280,000. We have already secured £200,000 in grant funding so we're tantalisingly close to our target! £5,000 from this crowd funding project will mean a match of £5,000 from Sport England.