Melksham teenagers campaign to save youth services

YOUNG people in Melksham are campaigning to save Canberra Youth Centre as it looks set to close due to cuts in youth services. 

The youth centre, which has helped change many young people’s lives in Melksham, is expected to close as early as July, leaving many who use the centre concerned as to what the future holds for the town’s youngsters.

Wiltshire Council has announced a 38.5% cut to youth services countywide as 24 of the authority’s youth centres are set to close in a bid to cut £500,000 from the youth service budget. The cuts could also see the 144 youth workers countywide lose their jobs.

The proposals are set to be considered at a Wiltshire Council budget meeting as Melksham Independent News went to press.

Canberra is set to be one of those that closes, with Wiltshire Council telling the users of the centre that a multi-purpose room at the community campus will be available to use when it is built.

However, the current members of Canberra feel this is  a poor alternative as the room will be used by many other groups, will be difficult to book due to the numbers using it, won’t be big enough to house their equipment and it won’t be their own as no work will be able to be displayed on the walls as other community groups will need to use the room.

The youth feel further insult has been added by Wiltshire Council’s determination to make youth services youth-based, meaning much of the interaction between youth workers and youngsters in town will take place on the streets and in the parks – a system that young people claim will not work.

Jack Oatley a user of the centre and a member of Melksham Youth Advisory Group said, “It is not right; the service has played a vital role in many people’s lives in Melksham and without it, people will suffer. To me it doesn’t make sense as they might save money by closing the centre, but the cost incurred by the police and other services as a result of kids causing trouble in the street will make the cuts in youth services pointless. We feel we are not being listened too.”

Canberra user, Kerry Lowe said, “The option of the new campus is poor. We won’t ever be able to use it and its location means we would have to walk past pubs late at night, something I know I wouldn’t want to do. The centre will close in July and the campus won’t open for months after that, so how can we plan or look forward?”

Youth volunteer Jacs Brady said, “The message this sends to young people is that they are not worth it and I know they are. We understand cuts have to be made, but we need an adequate place to give these amazing people a chance. They have not communicated well and what they do tell us is a spin, with the truth between the lines.”

Unite, the country’s largest union, is appalled by the cuts as 3,500 young people used the service across Wiltshire in a six-month period in late 2013 and there were over 31,000 visits to youth clubs in the same period.

Unite regional officer Alan Tomala said, “We face the real possibility that by the end of August we will have no youth workers, empty youth centres boarded up and young people hanging around outside them with nothing to do.

“As well as providing young people with a safe place to go to meet their friends and learn new skills, youth workers are providing lots of support to individual young people who have a range of challenges in their lives. The council knows these will be unpopular cuts, so it is trying to avoid difficult questions at public meetings. The county’s young people will suffer if councillors are allowed to sneak these plans through.

“We would urge young people, their parents and the wider community to let their local councillors know that this is not acceptable and we should be investing in young people, not cutting their services.

Wiltshire Council has proposed four ideas to help save money, they are; outsource the service, retain the youth work team with a significantly reduced budget, to encourage and support staff to form a Public Service Mutual (organisations that have left the public sector but continue delivering public services) and the community led model of Melksham campus.

• What do you think of the cuts to youth services and the impact it will have on the town? Let us know by emailing news@melkshamnews.co.uk