YMCA Trinity hosts the national premiere of a new Youth Investment Fund film at the Cresset in Peterborough

A new film about the national Youth Investment Fund’s investment in projects for young people premiered at the Cresset in Peterborough last night.

The event, attended by local youth groups, residents and supporters, also marked the grand opening of the new look Cresset Theatre and open access youth space in Bretton, Peterborough. The Cresset is run and owned by YMCA Trinity Group, a charity that focuses on supporting and empowering young people, strengthening families, and supporting communities to thrive across Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.

Back in 2023, YMCA Trinity Group was awarded a £5.1M Youth Investment Fund grant to secure the long-term future of its Cresset building and develop their open-access youth service offer. The Cresset works with up to 2,000 young people each year through its innovative performing arts, crafts and life skills programmes, offering a safe space for young people to engage in positive activities, socialise, and build new skills.

To celebrate the Cresset’s official opening, the improved theatre space hosted the national premiere of Centre Stage on Wednesday 15th October 2025. The new documentary follows two Brighton punk bands on a tour of youth spaces funded by the Youth Investment Fund, showcasing young people’s talent and highlighting the vital role of youth spaces in fostering creativity and self-expression in local communities. The film is a celebration of youth services funded by the UK Government’s Youth Investment Fund.

The Cresset opened in 1978 and now needed significant investment to make major repairs  to the roof, and improve access to the theatre space.  The Youth Investment Fund (YIF) capital grant has enabled a major building project to go ahead, including:

• Replacing the roof and drainage over the whole building.

• Replacing the 864 seats in the theatre.

• Installing an accessible theatre dressing room space.

• Installing a new lighting rig and environmentally sustainable theatre lighting.

• Installing a stage lift to allow accessible performance opportunities.

Young people are at the heart of YMCA Trinity, informing their youth work offer and making sure everything they do reflects young people’s needs and ideas. Alongside significant capital work, the Youth Investment Fund grant has enabled YMCA Trinity to develop a new programme of youth work, working with young people to create activities and opportunities for them to participate and gain new skills, and grow confidence, and learning.

Monique Benoiton-Smith, Performing Arts Officer for The Cresset added:

“The Youth Investment Fund has had an enormous impact on The Cresset and the young people of Peterborough. It’s given the Cresset a new lease of life, and the enhanced accessibility means we can reach even more young people.  It’s enabled us to make sure we’ve got the right facilities to be able to keep growing and giving young people every opportunity to thrive. We’ve got an immense amount of talent in the city, and we want to attract more and more young people to come in, have a go, express themselves, grow in confidence and find something new.  It’s a safe and accessible space, where everyone is welcomed.”

Sarah Saxby, Youth Cresset Project Manager, said

“The youth investment fund has enabled us to provide young people in Bretton with a variety of opportunities to express themselves, including in the creative and visual arts. Since YMCA Youth Cresset opened we have had over 1000 new engagements with young people providing them with experiences that otherwise many of them wouldn’t have been able to access. The programme has helped young people to make new connections, build aspirations, explore and unlock their potential.”

You can find out more about YMCA Trinity Group’s work with young people here.

Sarah Saxby, Youth Cresset Project Manager, said  

“The youth investment fund has enabled us to provide young people in Bretton with a variety of opportunities to express themselves, including in the creative and visual arts. Since YMCA Youth Cresset opened we have had over 1000 new engagements with young people providing them with experiences that otherwise many of them wouldn’t have been able to access. The programme has helped young people to make new connections, build aspirations, explore and unlock their potential.” 

You can find out more about YMCA Trinity Group’s work with young people here.