GIBSHILL Community Centre need a chorus of public approval to open a weekend music cafe for teenagers.

Centre development manager Erin Donnelly hopes to get young people off the streets by offering them a safe space on Saturday nights.

But she needs local people to vote for the proposed cafe in a ballot over the next two days.

The community centre team has lodged a £16,000 bid in the the council's new participatory budgeting fund.

Development manager Erin said: "The music cafe would be a great place for under 18s to come on a Saturday night.

"It would be their space and it would help give them something to do.

"We have a youth club running and the young people have told us they would like something on a Saturday night.

"But we need local people living the Gibshill area to go along and vote for it."

The music cafe would initially run one Saturday night a month.

As part of the new participatory funding bids, people living in Gibshill are invited to go along to Port Glasgow's iYouth Zone in Dubbs Place tomorrow or Port Glasgow Town Hall on Thursday and cast their vote.

Community police officer Willie Gorry is backing the Gibby bid and believes it would benefit young people in the area.

Constable Gorry said: "This is a brilliant idea and something we would fully support. There are a lot of good kids in Gibshill who just need somewhere to go on a Saturday night.

"You speak to them and they tell you they have nothing to do. A cafe on a Saturday night is a great idea."

Local mum Nicola Campbell, who runs a Creative Kids class at the centre, is also supporting the application.

Nicola added: "The community centre runs so many great groups.

"I started going to Creative Kids with my three-year-old daughter Mirren and then ended up taking over to keep it running.

"We need local people to support the centre."

The public vote will be open at Port Glasgow iZone in Dubbs Place on Wednesday from 2–4pm and at Port Town Hall on Thursday from 6-8pm

All voters will be required to provide their name/address and sign a declaration that they live in the ward for which they are voting.