A second Young Futures Hub is set to be created in County Durham after Durham County Council was selected by the government following a successful funding bid.
The announcement, reported on September 23, 2026, means the council will establish another centre based on the experience of its pilot hub in Newton Aycliffe. The new hub is intended to create further opportunities for young people to access joined-up support within their communities.
Location will be chosen with young people
The council has not yet identified a site for the additional hub. Instead, its location will be decided through a co-production process involving young people and partner organisations.
As part of that process, the council will work directly with young people and its partners to gather views on where the hub should be based. The aim is to identify a location where the service can be most effective, while ensuring the new centre reflects local needs and builds on strengths already present in communities.
The approach means the next stage is consultation and partnership work rather than an immediate opening at a named venue. The source does not provide a timetable for that work or say when the second hub will begin operating.
Support will cover wellbeing, skills and employment
The programme is designed as locally planned, partnership-led provision. It aims to improve opportunities for young people, support mental health and wellbeing, and help prevent young people from being drawn into crime.
The additional hub will bring several forms of help together in one connected system. Planned provision includes youth activities, wellbeing support, skills development, employment opportunities and access to wider services.
That model is intended to make it easier for young people to find support within their communities, rather than having to navigate separate services independently. The council says the hubs support its wider commitment to ensuring that young people have somewhere to go, something to do and someone who cares.
Newton Aycliffe hub to be renamed Next Chapter
Both hubs will be renamed Next Chapter. The name was chosen by young people who use the Newton Aycliffe Young Futures Hub, meaning the pilot and the new centre will share the same identity.
Councillor Cathy Hunt, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said the second hub reflected the partnership work already taking place across the county.
“This is fantastic news for the county’s young people. Young Futures Hubs are about creating positive opportunities and making it easier for young people to access the support they need, when they need it.”
She also linked the project to the council’s wider Durham Cares and Families First ambitions, describing those programmes as focused on providing the right help at the right time and in the right place.
Further information about the hubs is available through Durham County Council’s Young Futures Hub service at durham.gov.uk/youngfutureshub.