Former Wolves owner Steve Morgan steps down as chief at Wolverhampton Youth Zone

His departure comes four years after his original idea of building a youth zone in the city.

Mr Morgan spearheaded the £6 million centre, which was backed by One Direction star Liam Payne, and it was his idea and commitment to fund the first £1m that made The Way Youth Zone possible.

Since opening in January, more than 4,000 young people from all over the city have begun using the state-of-the-art building on School Street.

Mr Morgan today said he was 'proud' to have brought the site to the city and thanked the council and patrons of the youth zone for their support. He said: "I'm proud to have helped bring this fantastic facility to Wolverhampton. The Way is the culmination of a lot of hard work which began in 2012.

"The Way is an incredible asset, being used by thousands of young people from all over Wolverhampton and the surrounding areas. I feel that I have achieved what I set out to do by giving young people access to some brilliant opportunities. With this in mind, I feel it's time to hand the baton on to someone else to take The Way forward."

The role of chairman will now be taken on by John Gough, a local businessman and chairman of construction company William Gough, which was founded in Wolverhampton in 1900. Mr Morgan added: "I'm delighted John Gough will take on the role as chairman and I know he'll do a brilliant job.

"Even though I'm stepping down as chairman, The Morgan Foundation will continue to support some very exciting projects in the future that will really help the young people of Wolverhampton. I really want to thank the Wolverhampton council, the patrons and fellow funders for supporting me in creating this much-needed facility for the area."

Mr Gough, who has been a supporter of The Way since early 2012, said: "On behalf of the young people, all the staff and our board, I want to thank Steve for all his hard work. Without him, The Way Youth Zone wouldn't be helping more than 4,000 young people from all over Wolverhampton.

"I grew up in Wolverhampton and feel we really need to support our young people. We need to inspire and empower them to become the best they can be. I'm committed to continue the great work The Way is doing."

The state-of-the-art facility boasts a high spec music room, a 3G sports pitch, enterprise media suite, climbing wall, multi-use four court sports hall, cafe, dance studio, gym, cooking area and much more.