Youth Project

Well what can I say - just about everything that could go wrong with this project has!!

We started off with approaching a number of young people and asked what they wanted and everyone said "somewhere to meet "and "something to do".  We put our heads together and came up with using a disused skittle alley in one of the public houses (The Gate Inn) in the village and converting it to a "drop-in" style room where these young people could meet in safety and have things to do such as music, television, pool, darts, Internet access.

We then put in for commissioning money from the County Council Youth Service and were awarded £23,500 over 2 1/2 years to run this operations. Initially a big chunk of the money was to go towards an electronic door entry system so that the young people could gain access by a swipe card system, CCTV so that the landlord could keep an eye on them from the bar area, television, music system, installing a telephone socket with broadband capability, etc.  We were also to employ a part time youth worker to be able to offer advise and guidance to those who asked for help.

Unfortunately just as we were about to set up the landlord and landlady left the premises and the new landlady didnt want to continue with it but offered us the use of a field if that would help. 

We then looked at putting a portacabin in this field but when we approached the planning department were told it would be unlikely to get planning permission because the field flooded occasionally.

Next we were offered a site on a disused chicken farm just behind the High Street. We felt this would be ideal as it was central to the village, away from all main roads, had open fields to one side and a derelict shed to the other, business premises to one other side and a few houses.  Unfortunately this did not get passed through planning because we wanted access off a road other that the High Street and highways thought the road inappropriate.  The landowner has now stated that without the road he will not let us have the land.

We are now back to the beginning and looking for land to set up this operation and in the meantime the teenagers are left vulnerable, meeting in places such as the cemetary car park, the station car park - both places being too secluded.

The Parish Council is actively seeking land for recreational use so hopefully we will be able to work in conjunction with them to set something up in the near future and hope that funding will still be available to support us when the time comes.