Warndon youths to have their say

In an attempt to provide more facilities for the youth in the area, the Warndon Youth Working Party will be going into schools to ask youngsters what they want.

"We will be going into local schools such as Elgar Technology College and we will get together with local people in the area," said John Buckley, county councillor and spokesman for the working party.

"It is easy for me to say this is the best thing for the youth but what we are looking for is the youth to tell us what they want."

Coun Buckley said this was the latest attempt to provide more to alleviate the problems of boredom leading to damage to property.

"At the moment the Lyppard Community Centre is only open specifically for the youth one night a week and there is not a lot for them to do," he added.

The working party has come up with both a short-term and long-term solution.

The short-term solution would be to open up the Lyppard Grange Community Centre more nights a week for youths to use with better facilities.

Coun Buckley hopes a group of youths will take on the responsibility of running the group and will form a committee, which is assisted by adults.

"The key word is ownership," he said.

"We can't give them a painted room and tell them what to do. We should give them a room which they can paint and decide what they want to do in it."

However, Coun Buckley said it would be important to strike a balance between the youth nights and the people already using the community centre.

Another key issue is to get youth workers and volunteer to help out with the nights and raise money.

"There is a youth worker there who works very hard, but we need adult volunteers to help supervise," said Coun Buckley.

Following this, the long-term solution is to find land for a purpose-built youth centre for indoor activities.

"This is a long-term solution and we are talking about three or four years time," said Coun Buckley.

"This is the best chance so far."