Campaign launched to save Bridport and Beaminster youth centres ahead of proposed Dorset County Council cuts

The Bridport News is backing calls to save Bridport and Beaminster youth centres after Dorset County Council announced it is proposing to cut funding for youth centres across the county.

Members of the public are being urged to complete a public consultation to show how important the service is, while volunteers are needed to come forward to help set up a trust to manage the building, should funding be cut.

Leader of Bridport Town Council Cllr Sarah Williams said: “As a town council, I think it is very important for us to save our youth centre.

“It is a very important service in this town. It’s a place of safety for kids who need it in the evenings.

“It is a real hub for lots of community groups in this town. The youth centre is so important to Bridport where people feel they have somewhere to go. I feel we can look at at our finances and see what we can throw into the mix to help this get started.”

Initial discussions have started to set up a trust, with members indicating they will look at a model by Lyme Regis Development Trust.

Town clerk Bob Gillis also said the town council would look to approach Dorset County Council about the possibility of transitional funds to support setting up a trust, if the funding is cut.

Dorset County Council is proposing to reduce the £2.2m youth services budget by £1m, by closing all youth centres across Dorset and a reduced staffing budget.

The remaining budget would be used for youth work staff, primarily based in schools – while £200,000 a year would be allocated to support community groups to provide youth services.

Cllr Kelvin Clayton said: “Placing youth workers in schools is not where they are needed out of school hours.

“A lot of young people need a place of sanctuary and somewhere to go out of school hours. I think it’s very important that we do everything that we can to help save the youth centre.”

Cllr Dave Rickard said the county council’s proposals would force schools to change their culture.

He said: “I think this is unbelievably naive.

“Secondary schools are so busy trying to meet targets and get exams under their belts. Are they going to change that culture and let social workers go in?

“There are young people who are extremely stressed from being at school. We should be moving forwards, not backwards.”

Cllr Ros Kayes, who represents Bridport at town, district and county level urged anyone who is interested in becoming involved in a trust to contact the town council.

Beaminster Youth Centre at Bridport Carnival

BEAMINSTER Town Councillors have vowed to support the town’s youth centre in the face of moves by Dorset County Council to withdraw its funding.

They were angered by the threats to what is one of the most used youth centres in the county and accused the county council of being ‘politically motivated’.

They were doubly concerned because the building also houses the Children’s Centre, the town’s food bank and numerous clubs.

Council chairman Chris Turner said the youth centre provided a ‘safe haven’ for young people.

He said: “This is a politically driven decision. I think the community deserves better.”

District and town Cllr Janet Page said she’d been to meetings where they had been told categorically that youth centres would close and youth workers operate in schools.

She said: “It sounded very much as if volunteers would be used and nobody that was professionally trained would be used.

“If we lose our youth centre we lose a huge asset to the town.”

County Councillor Rebecca Knox said she entirely agreed.

“There is a vast amount that goes on at the youth centre building, lots of other people use it and that is why youth workers should not have their time spent on admin and running a building, They should be doing the real key work that they are professionally trained to do.

“It is for your communities to see if they could keep a building open and therefore accessible for young people.”

If it was more appropriate for the professionals to meet young people there why wouldn’t they, she said.

She said she was more than happy to work with the council and the community to see the best solution for Beaminster.

She added there was a £200,000 transition fund available for the next three years and communities could ‘bid’ for a share.

She said: “I think Beaminster has a really good case. It serves far more young people than even Bridport - about three times as many.

“The view of the professionals in order to make the most effective use of the finance we’ve got is to try and free up those youth service workers to work where they are needed most."

“If the community feels that is from the youth centre then the community can come up with a suggestion of how that might be delivered in the future.”

Councillors agreed to support the youth centre and set up a working party to work with Cllr Knox to find the best solution.

Dorset County Council’s consultation on these proposals is open until December 16 and is available at dorsetforyou.com/youth-services-consultation.

DORSET County Council is running a month-long public consultation on its proposal to withdraw funding from its 22 youth centres and target resources elsewhere.

The council proposes placing youth workers where it feels they can reach more people.

But the council says it will also support local communities – including young people themselves – to continue providing youth clubs, facilities and activities.

The council says increasing demand and shrinking budgets means it needs to dramatically change the way it works.

By 2017, it will be operating with a third less money than in 2011, and millions of pounds more will come out of the budget by the end of the decade.

It costs £2.2 million a year to provide youth services, spending which has to be reduced by around £1 million.

It argues that from consultation responses it believes only a small percentage of the county’s 13-18 year olds go to a youth centre.

Cllr Toni Coombs, pictured above, the council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Good youth work is much more than about offering young people places to go and things to do – it’s about building relationships and supporting those who need help, whether it’s with attending school, mental health issues or substance misuse."

“There is an enormous amount of pressure on young people today and we need to spot problems early before we have to provide more intensive – and costly – services, such as social care. The earlier we can support children and their families, the more likely they are to lead happy lives.”

“Although we are reducing our youth services budget, we will still have more than £1m to spend and need to use this money wisely.

“There are also many other organisations and community groups across Dorset that support young people by providing places to go and things to do.

“We would like to work more closely with them so we can target our resources where they are most needed. We want a more effective service that supports the most vulnerable while giving all young people the exciting opportunities they deserve.”

You can give your views on the proposal at www.dorsetforyou.com/youth-services-consultation and via paper copies available in libraries.

A decision will be made in January.

The council’s cabinet will consider feedback from the consultation and make a decision in January.