Councils invest £37,500 in future of Young Melksham

YOUNG Melksham has secured funding from both of Melksham’s councils, amounting to £37,500 in grants for the next three years.

The grants come as a welcome boost to the charity- that delivers a wide range of services for the youth of the town – as they prepare to take on a 125-year lease for the Canberra Centre building as part of a community asset transfer agreement with Wiltshire Council. 

The asset transfer will mean that Young Melksham will become fully responsible for all running costs of the site.

Melksham Town Council has committed to giving the charity a yearly grant of £10,000 for three years. Whilst Melksham Without Parish Council has pledged an annual grant of £2,500 for three years. Both councils will begin their financial support in the 2019/20 financial year.

Speaking at this month’s full town council meeting before the decision was made to support Young Melksham, chair of the charity’s trustees, Jon Hubbard said, “Melksham is extraordinarily lucky to have the Canberra Centre and the activities that we run there. There is nowhere else in Wiltshire that has this, in fact there are very few places left in the country that have dedicated resources of this ilk.

“The charity is taking effective possession of the building. Whilst this gives us a very secure future in terms of a base, it obviously comes with considerable expense and therefore we need to make sure that our funding is sustainable. 

“So we are asking the town to invest in its young people by supporting this venture. The money that you spend at Canberra, isn’t just spent on Canberra,  it’s spent on getting those young people off the streets, stopping complaints about anti-social behaviour, creating positive activities for young people, and supporting the mentoring programme.

“On behalf of our young people can I say thank you very much, because it does make a difference.”

The town council voted unanimously in favour of the proposal to allocate grants to Young Melksham for the next three years. Cllr Pat Aves said, “I feel that any money that we spend on young people in this town is an investment in its future.”

In response to the news, Jon Hubbard said, “On behalf of our young people can I say thank you very much, because it does make a difference.”