Young people living in Newhaven will be instrumental in driving forwards ambitious plans to re-establish an essential youth facility within the town through a Lottery good cause funded initiative.

Wave Leisure Trust Limited received £180,986 to save Shakespeare Hall, in Newhaven, East Sussex. It will form a part of a community hub incorporating a skate park, BMX course, outdoor green gym, cricket and bowls club.

Shakespeare Hall will offer job training, walking groups, healthy living classes, and Friday night discos amongst the activities on offer over a three year period.

A number of volunteers will provide sports training in football, BMX, swimming and basketball and participants will have the opportunity to gain national qualifications in sporting activities, nutrition and IT.

The funding will be used to create up to 3 posts for three years to develop, co-ordinate and deliver the initiative.

The Newhaven scheme is one of four projects in the South East to share in funding of nearly £0.9m today from the Big Lottery Fund's Reaching Communities programme, which aims to help those most in need and build stronger communities.

Peter Crowley, Managing Director of Wave Leisure, said: "We are thrilled to have been successful in procuring this funding for Newhaven and for Shakespeare Hall in particular. This has been a stringent bidding process and is reliant on a number of organisations demonstrating close partnership working and we will be judged on a number of specific outcomes; demonstrating the future value of all elements of the project."