A YOUTH café will be built in Yate despite the project facing delays because of the European elections.

Yate Town Council says it will ‘go it alone’ instead of working in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council if the project is postponed any further. Cllr Chris Willmore said: "We will walk away. We are close to saying we will look at building on the site of Yate Parish Hall (on Station Road) but we have some big decisions to make first at our next meeting.

"But that might be a route we have to go down."

Councillors have been calling for a facility for young people in the centre of Yate for 10 years but the plans have previously been delayed amid disagreements over funding and a site for the café.

Now, the hold-up is due to the European elections on June 4.

Added Cllr Willmore: "Officers from South Gloucestershire Council say they cannot take any decisions on anything remotely controversial until after the European election.

"We want a partnership between South Gloucestershire Council and Yate Town Council to be agreed by the summer holidays and that means timescales will be quite short.

"The first massive milestone will be when the first building brick is laid on the ground and we are working on the basis that will be in April 2011."

The cafe will cost close to £1million and Yate Town Council will contribute £750,000. The project has to be agreed by South Gloucestershire Council's ruling cabinet before the remaining funding is released.

The authority has given its backing to the project in principle and wants to open a ‘hub’ for young people to access information and advice on the same site.

Cllr Sheila Cook, executive member for children and young people, said: "Unfortunately we are between a rock and a hard place. There are strict rules in place about the sorts of announcements that the council can make in the run up to a set of local elections because we cannot be seen to be trying to sway the voting public.

"I am sure that those councillors expressing frustration now would also be the first to criticise the council if it were seen to be doing anything that could influence the outcome of the June elections."

Detailed plans of the youth café, which is currently planned to be built next to Yate Leisure Centre on land between Station Road and Kennedy Way, have been drawn up by architects.

They include an open-plan café with several more secluded areas inside and wedged walls outside which will become smaller as they extend out form the leisure centre.

A spokesman for Quattro Design Architects said: "It is hoped that young people will be able to contribute their views about the design and management of the youth café."