STAFF at one of the last Kidderminster youth centres have been handed their redundancy notices as it prepares to close at the end of next month.

Having been running The Y Centre, in Dowles Road, since 2005, the YMCA will be leaving in May because they were unable to get anymore funding from Worcestershire County Council.

Centre manager Nina Price, who has working at the centre for 10 years, said she will be sad to be leaving.

"Funding has unfortunately come to and end and we just can't continue to run the centre," she said. "It's going to be sad but we just don't know what's going to happen. We hope someone else will be able to take it on and keep it open."

The funding provided to the YMCA to run the youth services was changed three years ago and the charity no longer fitted the criteria needed to get the grants required.

A spokesman for the county council said the charity was given a three-year transitional period where it could change its service proposal to fit the Positive Activities for Young People funding guidelines or change what it delivered.

He said: "The bid, which was considered by local county councillors and young people, was not sufficiently robust to be successful. However, due to the fact that no other tenders were received in relation to provision in the Oldington and Foley Park area and in recognition of the local needs, it was agreed to make an exceptional grant from reserves until March 2015 to allow the YMCA further time to embed their provision and to seek other funding sources to sustain their work."

On March 31 the transitional funding ran out and the YMCA took the decision to leave the centre.

A spokesperson for YMCA Worcestershire said: "It is with regret that, due to local authority funding coming to an end, we will soon be unable to continue to run services at the Y Centre, in Dowles Road.

"Our staff members who work at the centre have been fully consulted throughout.

"We are proud of the work we have done to support the community in Dowles Road and look forward to continuing to provide a nearby nursery to local families."

The youth centre building has been leased from Wyre Forest Community Housing Trust and they plan to work with the local community to discuss the future use of the centre.

For more information about Positive Activities in the Wyre Forest, visit worcestershire.gov.uk/directory/18/positive_activities_for_young_people/category/41.