A Telford MP has launched a petition to see a closed, crumbling youth centre revamped to provide facilities for youngsters.
David Wright, Telford MP, has joined forces with two councillors from St Georges to call for the refurbishment of Gower Street Youth Club.
The building has been shut for around three years and has been labelled a disgrace by the local community.
Mr Wright has now announced he will be launching a petition in St Georges, with the support of Councillor John Minor and Councillor Richard Overton, to gain support for a possible face-lift for the club.
Mr Wright said: “If this building was in Wellington or Newport it would have been brought back into use by now. The council must come forward with a plan to breathe new life into this wonderful local building.
“Young people in the area need to be given a chance to get involved in refurbishing the building and developing new youth facilities.
“We need to build a broad community campaign on this issue and I would urge people to sign up to our petition.”
The Gower Street building was closed in 2006 due to a number of reasons including a broken boiler, the discovery of asbestos and ongoing vandalism.
St Georges Councillor Richard Overton said: “This building is a disgrace.
“It is falling into serious disrepair and needs to be put back into use as a youth club as soon as possible.
“This would create local jobs and provide a new resource for the community.”
The centre was built by the Lilleshall Company in 1873 and it is thought to be one of the oldest buildings in St Georges.
Mr Wright’s petition, which will be available in local shops, calls for the youth club building to be refurbished ‘as a matter of urgency.’
Councillor John Minor added: “It seems that St Georges is being forgotten in terms of borough regeneration.
“We want to see some investment in our town and Gower Street would be a good place to start.”
Councillor Eric Carter, cabinet member for Regeneration, said: “Planning permission was granted for the development of 13 apartments in May 2008. However, market conditions have meant that we have been unable to get best value for the building.
“We are now carrying out a further assessment of the centre to establish a use for the building in the short term.”