YOUNG people from Carlisle Youth Zone have transformed a bus stop into a home from home for passengers.

To help celebrate Kingmoor Park’s 20th anniversary, and in recognition of the site’s long-term support of Carlisle Youth Zone (CYZ), members have injected a splash of colour to the stop at the entrance to the business site.

The team have turned the mundane commuter area into a vibrant temporary lounge, complete with a sofa, fireplace and a coffee table.

The theme of a home from home aims to represent what the Youth Zone means to them.

Commuters can take advantage of the new and improved area for the next few weeks, and kick back and relax after work before they head home.

To coincide with the transformation, a commemorative plaque was also presented to the staff of Kingmoor Park.

It states: “Carlisle Youth Zone is a modern take on the traditional youth club, with state of the art facilities.

“It’s a safe and fun place where the potential of any young person is developed and fulfilled.

“The fun activities we provide are the hook, which paves the way for us to deliver targeted work to those young people, that identify as the most vulnerable.

“We aim to improve young people’s confidence, increase self esteem, reduce isolation and raise aspirations.”

Lynsey Buckle, CYZ development manager, said the youth zone and Kingmoor Park have always been incredibly close partners over the years.

“We wouldn’t have a youth zone if it wasn’t for them,” she said.

“Their support, money, contacts and energy have kept us going.

“We recognise this is a big year for them, and we want to do a series of quote special things in conjunction with them - the first of which was to liven up their bus stops - to give something back.”

The bus stop was created earlier in the week by members of the youth zone, including senior member Alissa Moore.

She told the News & Star: “A couple of the young people from senior club have been painting the pictures and the fireplace that are out there at the bus stop.

“I came down on Wednesday with youth worker Emma and we put the whole thing together, from putting up pink material, nailing it to a wall and getting our hands dirty.

“It looks really good, and we’re all really proud of the results.”

Neil McIntyre, managing director of Kingmoor Park said: “For the project, our initial thoughts were that we wanted to do something that would tie in with the Youth Zone being our charity of the year for our 20th anniversary.

“It was to add a splash of colour to a dismal site, and encourage people to ask more questions about the youth zone, and what’s the project for.

“This event is the first of a series of events that will take place this year to celebrate our milestone, and mark the very important partnership between us and the youth zone.

“We also have a fundraising box at the bus stop, to allow anyone to make a donation.”

Lynsey added that this small splash of colour is the first of many more exciting events to come later in the year, and dropped a hint of what Carlisle residents can expect.

“We do have some other events planned for Kingmoor later this year.

“I don’t want to give too much away, but we will have a major event coming up this summer.

“That event will be an opportunity not just to involve Kingmoor Park, but their tennants, which will be quite the showstopper for the city, so watch this space.”