YORK has secured more than £400,000 from the Government to provide better support for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities.

City of York Council, Askham Bryan College and York College successfully bid for a share of £40 million from the Department for Education to set up two new centres and improveme other facilities.

The council’s £36,200 allocation will be backed up with £100,000 of the authority’s own money to create a new “autism hub”, potentially on the site of the former Oliver House elderly people’s home in Bishophill, as part of a wider health and social care centre.

The venture will be led by a management group led by voluntary sector agencies who support people with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) in York. They focus on youngsters with autistic spectrum conditions who need “quieter environments” and space for “time out” which reduce their anxiety levels, as some existing facilities are too large, noisy and daunting. All the funding has to be spent and the work completed by the end of next March.

Coun Janet Looker, the council’s cabinet member for education, children and young people, called the money “fantastic news” for the city. She said: “York has an excellent record for supporting children on the autism spectrum and this new initiative will take that support to an older group of young people, enabling them to take their education forward.”

Askham Bryan College will use the £328,000 it has received, together with its own £80,000 contribution, to build a new specialist facility for learners with LDD. The single-storey centre in the college grounds for 16-to-25-year-olds will offer vocational learning and the development of independent living skills, as well as short-term residential accommodation for eight to ten people.

College principal Liz Philip said: “This significant development will be life-changing for hundreds of young people as they develop independence, confidence and learning skills which, for many, would have been unimaginable.”

York College’s £40,200 share will be spent on remodelling teaching areas to make learning spaces larger, providing facilities which are more accessible and adaptable and offer “personalised and flexible learning”.

Principal Dr Alison Birkinshaw said: “We are delighted to be able to work with Askham Bryan College and the council to make sure our facilities for young people with disabilities are first class.”