Plans for new multi-million dollar Orange Youth Hub in the works

Katrina Hausia is Orange City Council's youth development officer and spoke about the plans on Friday morning following an announcement that $40 million worth of funding would soon be made available for regional NSW.

"All the young people that are riding their bikes through the shopping centres, where would they be if there was a youth centre downtown, they would be in that youth centre," Ms Hausia said.

"Having it downtown means that it's accessible to all of the community. Everyone from north Orange, south Orange, east and west, everyone can come because it's central. Having something central appeals to more."

A spate of youth crime has plagued the CBD in recent months and while Ms Hausia said these plans would not fix everything, they would go a long way towards helping.

"You'd get a basketball court there, computers, we'd have a café so that young people could actually come through and do their hospitality and barrister courses," she added.

"We could have services like Headspace, Likemind and Lives Lived Well all working out of there. Because we do have a high suicide rate at the moment, I do think that we could have a safe space in there as well, so people of all ages could come and hang out in a room where there is someone all the time.

"On top of that, we could have the youth hub manned 24 hours."

While the concept of a new and improved youth hub was floated to the council in August, the money necessary to get it off the ground was always going to play a part in its viability.

But during Friday's announcement which featured Deputy Premier Paul Toole, as well as Minister for Regional Youth, Ben Franklin, it was revealed that community groups would be able to apply for grants of between $150,000 and $3 million to get ideas, like the one Ms Hausia spoke about, off the ground.

"I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to be downtown where everyone was," the youth development officer said.

"Having a hub downtown, people would be drawn to it, so instead of hanging out in the shopping centres - because that's where they've got to hang out at the moment - they can hang out at the hub.

"Having our youth hub in town, that helps build social capital skills, they're part of something in town like everyone else."

But a new youth hub wasn't the only thing on Ms Hausia's wish list.

Bringing back a 'school holiday merge program', while also engaging more with primary-aged children through sport and workshops six days a week would be something Ms Hausia believes would benefit the city.

"We absolutely need to run programs in communities such as Glenroi and Bowen but we also need to teach people that they're part of Orange and build those social capital skills," she added.

"Just because you're part of Bowen and Glenroi doesn't mean you're not part of Orange."

Orange Council will apply for the maximum amount of $3 million for the youth hub project, with applications open until October 4. The current Orange Youth Hub runs out of the building at 33 Garema Road.