Award-winning Yorkshire youth hub hunting new location as demand soars
A youth hub in the heart of Frenchgate is looking for another venue as demand continues to track up with more and more young people attending.
The EPIC Hub has become an award-winning success story in its five years since opening, a stark contrast to the decline in opportunities for Doncaster’s young people.
Tom Chambers, deputy manager of EPIC, said: “These kids are our future. I’m from Bentley and Scawthorpe. I was the last year group in school that had a youth club in the area.
“We have noticed a decline in opportunities for young people. This gives them something.”
A Doncaster Council spokesperson said: “EPIC is part of Doncaster Council’s wider youth offer, which includes community hubs at Tom Hill in Denaby Main and Bentley Youth Hub on Askern Road.”
The new location for EPIC is not confirmed, Tom said, but the possibility was cause for excitement at a recent Doncaster Council meeting.
After a visit to the EPIC hub in July 2026, members of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel said they got “great vibes” from it.
Councillor Bob Anderson told the panel: “The new place [EPIC is] looking at just shows a positive to me. People want to use it.”
2,410 individual young people used the EPIC hub between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026 – with those individuals attending more than 8,300 times.
It represents a 14 per cent increase in engagement at the EPIC hub and led to the site receiving a national award in February 2026.
Tom said: “Over the last five years, we’ve become that safe space for young people. We’ve become an area for young people to hang around and associate with their friends.”
He said plans from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to expand free bus travel for under-18s across the region, after its success in Barnsley, would bring more young people to Doncaster city centre.
Tom added: “If young people have got free transport they will want to come to the city centre.
“By having a bigger space, we will not only be able to keep with that demand, we will be able to build better relationships.”
The hub is increasing its offering this summer, inviting attendees on trips to go paintballing, to Go Ape and more.
“It’s something that some young people may never get the opportunity to do,” Tom said.
“I think we all forget that even having a football these days could be a bit of a luxury. We still see young people coming without access to the internet at home.”
Tom said he was incredibly proud of the brilliant work that has been done at EPIC, founded as part of a partnership between Doncaster Council, South Yorkshire Police and Frenchgate Shopping Centre.
He said: “If we weren’t here, that good work with young people wouldn’t be here and the negative images around the city centre could have been a lot more.
“It’s not just us building relationships with young people, it’s the police, it’s the security team.
“We always have that stereotype of young people. Just because they are a group of four or five with hoodies or hats on, doesn’t mean they are going to do anything.”