Youngsters deliver strong message for city centre venue
4:20pm Saturday 6th September 2008
comment Comments (0) Have your say »
By Nadia Jefferson-Brown »
YOUNG people are calling for a new meeting and entertainment venue to be provided for them in York city centre, as the council considers mounting a bid for Government cash.
Whitehall is making capital funds available for authorities to develop iconic new facilities for young people, which has sparked fresh talks between City of York Council and local youngsters.
The Children and Young People’s Services Advisory panel met with young people who highlighted what was needed and outlined their vision for new events and activities in the city.
Coun Dave Merrett, Labour’s children and young people’s services spokesman, said: “The Government’s MyPlace scheme offers the city’s young people a tremendously exciting opportunity to obtain a world class youth facility in York. “It would fill a major gap in local provision and the city centre is obviously the most accessible location to put it and where young people want to see it.
“The timescale is now very short, and the council and its potential partners need to continue their work and pull out all the stops to deliver the bid.”
An officer’s report to the panel stated that, if a bid was made and proved successful, any necessary building or refurbishment work would most likely take place in 2010.
Coun James Alexander, the children and young people’s champion, said: “The young people who attended the meeting sent a very strong message that they want the venue in a central location. They feel equality of access from a public transport point of view is very important.
“In terms of what they would like to see the venue used for, they listed various events and activities such as sport, drama and gigs, and would like to see a chill out area, café, PCs and games, internet access, advice as well as some outdoor space. “I was tremendously impressed with their contributions, and I hope this vision becomes a reality as it is long overdue. I think the Government has recognised that young people need decent leisure provision, and I’m happy to welcome its contribution to achieving this”. Panel members supported in principle the idea of mounting a bid to secure myplace cash to develop centrally-based facilities for young people and also backed calls for the site to be in the city centre.
Officers will now pursue the ideas throughout this month to explore possible options for a site and partnerships.
These will be appraised closer to the bid deadline to help decide whether a bid should be submitted now or deferred until a further bidding round.
No comments:
Post a Comment