A NEW cafe to give young people in Middlewich somewhere to hang out is on the cards.

Middlewich Town Council members agreed to work with Cheshire East Council and Middlewich Vision to launch a new youth café at Monday night’s meeting.

It would include equipment such as Wifi, games consoles and computers – and have a youth worker on-site for youngsters to get any advice they need.

Cllr Vicky Perez put forward the idea after talking to young people across town with Middlewich’s street pastors.

“The overwhelming concern with young people is that they have no meeting place to call their own in the town,” she told councillors.

“We need to bring back a young people’s internet cafe and meeting place.

"Let’s look after the young people.”

Cllr David Latham told the meeting he spoke to ‘a random 50’ children aged 12 to 16, and found 68 per cent wanted a drop-in place ‘where they could come and go randomly without pressure or intimidation’, but 72 per cent ‘don’t want a youth club as such’.

He added: “They just want to be able to meet and chat, somewhere to stay dry and also to get Wi-fi.

“Ninety-one per cent feel like there is nothing to do and there is nowhere for that age group to go – and they feel they are being ignored.”

Cllr Latham also suggested that an empty unit in Wheelock Street could be used for the project.

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“Our children live in a completely different era to what we lived in,” added Cllr Mike Hunter, chairman of Middlewich Town Council.

“But what is a complete and utter shame is there is nothing extra in this town from when I was a child to what there is now.”