DELIGHTED youth centre volunteers are looking to the future with renewed optimism after lottery funders gave assurances they would still receive vital cash for a new centre.

DELIGHTED youth centre volunteers are looking to the future with renewed optimism after lottery funders gave assurances they would still receive vital cash for a new centre.

The People's Millions lottery fund has assured Newtown Youth Centre that it would get the �50,000 award needed to build a new and improved facility.

But the mood was very different just over a month ago in the aftermath of a second devastating arson attack which forced the Jellicoe Road centre to close and left volunteers fearing they would lose the funding, which had been earmarked for a new �96,000 building on the same site.

Main concerns were that the lottery would not provide funding for a new centre on a different site and that the design plans for the new building could not be submitted in time for the fund's April deadline.

The borough council's head of regeneration and environment, Tim Howard, is working on behalf of the centre to negotiate an extension to the deadline.

Borough council spokesman Steven Reilly said: “We have held positive discussions with the Big Lottery Fund about extending the deadline for the spending of the �50,000 funding for Newtown Youth Centre. We hope to hear a decision shortly.”

He added that the council still intended giving �10,000 from

its budget to pay for the new centre.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Big Lottery Fund, said: “The Big Lottery Fund is continuing to work with the Newtown Youth Centre to help them deliver their project and make the best use of their grant despite the setbacks they have had.”