Youth clubs have been suspended until the new year at a centre due to “important works”.

Bruce Grove Youth Centre will not open for its usual drop-in youth clubs on Thursdays and Fridays between 4pm and 8pm after a decision made by the council cabinet last week.

Residents say they are unhappy they were not consulted more closely over the closures, with many not finding out the sessions had been cancelled until they turned up at the youth centre.

Sue Holtom of the Bruce Grove Residents’s Network said: “This all sounds very underhand and upsetting for staff and young people expecting to use the centre. Why can't the council or our Bruce Grove councillors be upfront about what's going on?”

On the youth centre’s website, a short message says only that the classes have been cancelled so that “important works” can be done.

The council have said that work needs to be done on the centre, including adding extra CCTV cameras to the building, improving the fire exit and emergency access routes on site, and modernising the front door

They also said that other scheduled sessions will not be affected, and the centre remains open for other classes.

A sign outside the centre says that the centre is closed for “building improvements”.

It says: “We anticipate that the centre will open sometime in January”.