A POPULAR youth club which closed more than a year ago in mysterious circumstances is being reopened under new management.

The Rose Bowl Youth Centre on the Marquess Estate, Canonbury, will open next month and be managed by community arts charity Hoxton Hall.

Islington Council closed the centre in February last year, sparking complaints from dozens of parents who took their children along for activities such as boxing, cooking and the homework club.

Councillor Richard Watts, Islington Council’s executive member for children and young people, said: “The refurbished Rose Bowl is due to reopen in early April. Islington Council and Friends of the Rose Bowl have worked closely with local young people to find out exactly what they wanted to see in their centre, and young people were involved in the decision to select Hoxton Hall as the new providers. Hoxton Hall will offer a new programme of activities in sports, arts and media and have been running taster workshops at the Walter Sickert Community Centre over the last month.

“I know how much local families have been looking forward to seeing the Rose Bowl up and running again and Hoxton Hall are committed to making it a centre that really meets the needs of the young people who use it.”

Hoxton Hall runs a performance venue in Hackney and also a successful community arts scheme.