Delight at green light for indoor facility at UK Youth’s Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Centre

Plans to transform a popular New Forest outdoor learning centre have taken a huge step forward.

National youth work charity UK Youth, which operates Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Centre, near Bransgore, Hampshire, has been granted conditional planning permission to build a new indoor facility on the site, which UK Youth opened has operated since 1946. 

The proposal, approved by the New Forest National Park Authority, will see an “existing, under-used and poor quality” storage building demolished and replaced with an Experiential Learning & Sports Centre, promoting all-year-round use of the site. 

A planning statement accompanying the application said: “Avon Tyrrell receives 39,000 visitors annually. As there is no existing purpose-built indoor facility at the site, the site is more intensively used during warmer months. 

“The new development is needed to allow existing visitor numbers to be ‘smoothed across the year’. This would allow the outdoor centre to operate more sustainably and, in particular, better protect the natural and historic environment of the site.” 

Avon Tyrrell is dedicated to providing young people the opportunity to experience, learn and develop through outdoor learning in a natural environment to improve their life skills. It supports equitable access for all young people and is proud to be a leader in the use of outdoor learning to transform the lives of young people and communities.  

Operating on the principles of Experience, Learn and Develop, it offers residential and day experiences for educational and youth organisations and families  – with accommodation in a Grade I-listed Manor House, lodges or camping – featuring activities such as archery, bushcraft, canoeing, climbing, abseiling, high ropes, orienteering and mountain biking. 

David Watts, UK Youth director of outdoor learning, said: “Young people sit at the heart of our work at Avon Tyrrell. Our Experience, Learn and Develop model ensures we support young people’s development of socio-emotional skills when they visit, utilising outdoor learning and youth work principles.  

“We believe experiential outdoor learning gives young people the chance to develop life skills, including improved communication, motivation, teamwork and resilience, and building character. 

“This development is a key part of the mitigation needed to allow the charity to continue its work to conserve and, where possible, enhance the Manor House and registered park through better management of their use throughout the year. 

“The ELSC will allow visitor numbers to be ‘smoothed’ over the year, to avoid peak use in the summer and to remove wet weather and evening activities from the Manor House altogether and avoid the impact to the parkland during extreme wet weather conditions.”

Planned features of the new single-storey sports centre include a full-size sports court, separate climbing facility and training room, alongside a break-out and refreshment area and changing rooms. 

UK Youth has now launched an appeal to fund the development and proposed restoration of the Manor House at the heart of its site. 

About UK Youth

UK Youth is a leading charity with a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. With an open network of more than 8,000 youth organisations and nation partners; UK Youth reaches more than four million young people across the UK and is focused on unlocking youth work as the catalyst of change that is needed now more than ever. To find out more, visit ukyouth.org 

UK Youth is involved in a range of programmes designed to help young people thrive, such as outdoor learning, physical literacy, social action and employability, including Hatch, a youth employability programme run in partnership with KFC. For more on UK Youth’s programmes, see ukyouth.org/what-we-do/programmes