A NEW creative hub for children and young people worth £3.2m is set to be built in Bangor.

Theatre company Frân Wen announced plans for a new home this week.

Set to be located at the former St Mary's Church on Garth Road, the hub will be known as "Nyth" (Nest) and will include rehearsal, workshop and small-scale performing spaces used for a range of creative projects.

Frân Wen, who also announced the appointment of new Artistic Director Gethin Evans this week, hope to bring a new lease of life to the local heritage building and bring it back into use as a home for the company and a community asset.

Irfon Jones, independent chairman of the Frân Wen board, said he wanted arts for young people to be "more accessible and relevant" as he revealed plans for the new development.

"The concept of Nyth is based on collaboration and will allow Frân Wen to flourish artistically and develop new partnerships in order to promote the transformative power of the arts in areas such as health and wellbeing and creative learning."

Established in 1984 and currently based in Menai Bridge, Frân Wen delivers a participatory programme and theatre productions through the medium of Welsh, across North Wales and beyond. The new home will provide a central and convenient location for young people across North West Wales.

Mr Jones added: "The arts is a vital part of the fabric and vigor of our communities and at a time when spaces and opportunities for young people in particular are limited, we’re looking to create a safe place to nurture and support them at such a crucial time in their lives."

The plans have been developed with young people from across North West Wales. The hub is expected to act as an incubator for young and emerging creatives in the area.

"Nyth will allow us to continue to deliver high quality arts activities and inspire the next generation of creative and enterprising young people. Giving young artists a platform to develop and share their work is a key part of the vision." said Nia Jones, Frân Wen's Executive Director.

"At a time of growing economic pressure, this development will contribute to the sustainability of Frân Wen, and will enable us to deliver an ambitious artistic programme to a wider and more diverse audience."

Having purchased the site, the next stage for Frân Wen is inviting architects to respond to the vision and develop plans to transform the old church.

The theatre company will hold full public consultations as part of the forthcoming development phase.

It is estimated that the current design and development stage will take 12 months, after which a further timeline for the project will be released.