A YOUTH centre in Darwen has been closed for ‘half the week’ because of council budget cuts, it has emerged.

Only two years after Knott Street Community Centre got a £400,000 facelift, and reopened as Darwen Youth Centre for 13 to 16-year-olds, cuts have forced a limited offering.

Now people have enquir-ed whether the centre, which includes an IT suite, all-weather pitch and dance studio, could open again for use by the wider community.

But the borough council has said that from next month it plans to offer ser-vices seven days a week.

Sunnyhurst town coun-cillor Brenda Cronshaw said: “Opening on just some nights a week is no good.

“There are also no signs outside that let people know when it is open.

“If the borough council is putting a lot of money into the new Youth Zone opening in Blackburn, then there needs to be some re-balance in terms of investment in Darwen.”

John Ratcliffe of Black-burn with Darwen Coun-cil’s families, health and wellbeing department, said in an e-mail: “There is no doubt that the cuts have had an impact on the delivery at Knott Street over the past few months whilst the service went through a review.

“However, the final tou-ches are now being made to an overreaching strate-gy for the delivery of services to young people within the borough, which is being led by Councillor Damian Talbot.

“High on the list of priorities was to increase delivery within Darwen, based from Knott Street.

Blackburn with Darwen Council said the centre would once again be running activities seven-days-a-week for children who cannot, or do not want to, go to the Youth Zone in Blackburn Town Centre, from the start of the new financial year next month.

Sunnyhurst councillor Dave Smith said: “This is good news for the comm-unity.

“There are concerns about how children are going to access the new Youth Zone from places like Darwen, Shadsworth and Highercroft.

And I definitely believe that there is a need for a youth centre in Darwen.”