Gay centre has £80,000 refit

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Gay centre has £80,000 refit

More than 200 people were entertained by stilt walkers and drag queens at the re-launch of Leicester's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender centre.

The Leicester LGBT headquarters, in Wellington Street, in the city centre, has had an £80,000 refit, including new foyer, cafe and social room.

Saturday saw the centre's official reopening, which was given a splash of colour and entertainment via drag queens Miss Marty and Miss Penny, who greeted visitors.

Martyn Parker, organiser of the Leicester Pride parade, said: "We want to get the word out that we're here and that we offer services such as health advice and support for a number of issues."

The social room will host the centre's groups, which include 1st Out – a Thursday night club for teenagers.

Tim Peters, youth worker at the centre, said: "We're a very inclusive club. We say we're the LGBTQ youth group – the Q stands for questioning.

"If there's young people who aren't sure of their sexuality they're very welcome and if they turn round one day and say they're straight were not going to kick them out or anything."

Rainbow and Dove owner James Cockerill provided free food and drink. He said: "The centre provides a lot of support for a lot of people."

The centre, which employs four full-time members of staff, is a registered charity. For details call 0116 254 7412.