Published: March 7, 2009
New Burnham-On-Sea youth centre cafe is opened

A brand new youth cafe was officially opened in Burnham-On-Sea on Friday afternoon (March 6th).

The long-awaited opening of the Burnham Area Youth Centre's cafe in Cassis Close was attended by a crowd of youngsters and supporters of the centre.

The launch night included free pizza and cola. As well as refreshments, the cafe offers free Internet access, games consoles, a pool table and various other entertainment.

"The cafe is being aimed at 11-17 year-olds and will initially be open four days a week and be completely free," Noreen Beckinsale, secretary of the BAY Centre's Local Action Team, told Burnham-On-Sea.com.

She added: "A big thank you goes to Asda for providing the refreshments, and the cafe's partners, the police, Somerset County Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Somerset Rural Youth Project, St Andrew's Church and Burnham Lions, for all their help."

PC Stiles of Burnham Police added: "The cafe will be an invaluable resource for young people in Burnham, giving them somewhere to spend time with their friends and have some fun in a supervised environment."

"It will give young people somewhere to channel their time and energies in a productive way and we hope that the community will see a drop in anti-social behaviour after it has opened."

Opening times will for school years 7, 8 and 9 on Mondays from 3.30pm-5.30pm and Tuesdays 3.30pm-6.30pm. The cafe will also be open for school years 10, 11 and the 6th Form on Fridays 8-10pm and Saturdays 6-10pm.

In February, Burnham-On-Sea.com reported how members of Burnham Lions Club had decorated the interior of the cafe.

Pictured above are the BAY Centre's leaders and supporters at Friday's launch of the new cafe