City of York Council's new 'one-stop shop' for young people is nearing completion and due to open its doors for the first time on 29 January.

The exciting project has seen the former 'Impressions' gallery on Castlegate converted to provide a drop-in facility for 16-25 year olds in an accessible city centre location. It will replace and build upon the good work done by the Youth Enquiry Service (YES) at Bootham, which was rated excellent by OFSTED. It will see YES and the local Connexions service, which is also rated one of the best in the country, brought together under one roof for the first time. This means that staff will be able to provide a more comprehensive and holistic service for young people.

Young people visiting the centre will be able to access information, advice and support on a wide range of issues, including work and learning; housing; sexual health; mental health; money and benefits; rights; and relationships. It will also provide a counselling service and offer group sessions on issues like dealing with anger.

Funding from the project has come from the Strategic Health Authority and Connexions, and the development of the advice centre will enable the council and its partners to meet government priorities aimed at delivering an integrated youth support service.

The centre will accommodate a small, permanent team, as well as providing young people with access to a number of visiting specialist advisors. The range of facilities on offer there will include six rooms for one-to-one work with young people and a group work room that can also be used for presentations and activities. A city centre location was chosen to reflect feedback from young people, which has also influenced the design and decoration of the building.

In keeping with the building's history as a gallery, local schools and colleges are being invited to display work produced by their students there as part of a rolling programme of exhibitions of young people's art.

Dawn Moores, the co-ordinator of the council's youth enquiry service, said: "We are delighted that this very exciting project is nearing completion and really looking forward to being able to open the doors to the young people of York. It will be extremely beneficial for them to be able to access a wide range of services under one roof."

The centre will be open from Monday to Friday between the hours of 12 noon and 5pm, with a late night opening until 7pm on Thursday and a Saturday drop-in between 12 noon and 3pm.