1. education
2. school

Insert here letterheads for Milton Parish Council and Milton Community Centre, once we
have a vote of support.
Milton Youth Building - Business Plan
1
Contents
Page
1.
Summary
3
2.
Introduction
4
3.
Youth groups in the portacabin
4
4.
Partnerships
4
5.
Human resources
5
6.
Management and young people’s involvement
5
7.
Revenue finance
6
8.
Capital finance
6
Appendix A - Youth Building Business Plan, 2000
Appendix B - Reports to Milton Parish Council on the operation of the Youth Centre,
November 2001, 2002 and 2003
Appendix C - Location of a Youth Building. What is a Youth Building?
Appendix D - Regular lettings at Milton Community Centre
Appendix E - Staff and volunteer biographies
Appendix F - Youth Building drawings and estimates
Appendix G - Letters of support from youth workers
Appendix H - Excerpts from Parish Council Minutes
Appendix I - Consultations with young people
Appendix J - Programme of use
Appendix K - Gantt chart showing project progress
2
1.
Summary
1.1.
Milton is a village of over 4,500 residents on the Northern side of Cambridge. The village doubled in size
between 1985 and 1993. Most secondary school pupils attend either Impington Village College (IVC) 3
miles away, or Cottenham Village College over 5 miles away. Neither village is linked to Milton by a
direct bus route. Milton is in the IVC Patch for local authority (LEA) youth provision, which has until
now been managed through the local community schools. Young people who do not drive, wanting to go
into Cambridge in the evening have to rely on parents to collect them as the bus service is not reliable.
1.2.
Milton Parish Council (MPC) has supported the provision of youth clubs in the village over the years and
when there was no hall space available for additional youth club evenings, became involved in providing
a venue for youth clubs.
1.3.
In June 2000 Milton Parish Council acquired a very old portacabin and had it installed on the car park
beside the pavilion at The Sycamores recreation ground. Our plan was to run youth clubs in the
portacabin for a few years, and then, once we had seen how much it was used, to raise funds and create a
purpose-built permanent Youth Centre. The planning permission for the portacabin was renewed in June
2003 for another three years, but the portacabin is showing its age and must be replaced sooner than
2006. The original business plan and reports to the Parish Council at the end of each of the three years
are in Appendices A and B.
1.4.
The Parish Council owns the freehold on the proposed site, which is leased to Milton Community Centre
and Recreation Grounds (MCC), a charity which manages public buildings and recreation grounds in the
village. It is proposed that these two bodies will work together to fund-raise and build the new Youth
Centre, which will then be added to the lease and overseen in its operation by the Parish Council Youth
Committee.
1.5.
The Youth Committee has produced a description of the nature of a Youth Building (Appendix C), which
should have facilities to support good youth work. The main room is set up “café-style” as a club room,
with a coffee bar, comfortable chairs, TV, pool table, table football and table tennis, and there is a sideroom for smaller group discussions or private interviews. The nature of this building will foster the same
sense of ownership among the young people which we have now with the youth portacabin. We envisage
that other groups catering for around the same age group (11-25) or older will also be able to hire the
building.
1.6.
Continued funding of youth work and support for community premises within the village is promised by
the Parish Council, in addition to whatever LEA or other statutory youth work is provided in the village.
3
2.
Introduction
2.1.
Milton Parish Council is committed to engaging with the youth of the village and to providing them with
constructive activities and youth club sessions. For many years it had cooperated with the Community
Education department at Impington Village College over the youth club which had been run by them in
Milton Community Centre on one evening a week. For a short while we also had a junior club on a
second night. In 1995 there was a particularly disruptive group of young people in the village and when
the one youth club evening was not enough to meet the needs of all the young people, the Parish Council
paid for the Connections Bus Project, a youth club initiative using an old double-decker bus, based in
Histon, to visit on one further evening a week. Even at that time there was no extra evening session
available in the Community Centre or any of the suitable halls. (See Appendix D for hall usage at the
Community Centre)
2.2.
After three years the Bus had to refocus its efforts on villages without any facilities (like the new village
of Cambourne) and pulled out of Milton. In 1999 there were again many problems of youth vandalism in
the village and in 2000 the Parish Council responded to the request for a venue for youth clubs from the
Youth Committee by agreeing to fund a youth portacabin. At this time they also put in a basketball court
and multi-purpose hard surface for football, etc for the youth of the village, all at The Sycamores
recreation ground. A small skate park has recently been added.
2.3.
The portacabin has been equipped over the past three years with games, chairs and tables, computers,
sofas, and other equipment, some bought by the Parish Council, but a lot donated from local companies
or villagers.
3.
Youth groups in the portacabin
3.1.
It was clear that we needed other partners to share our building with: people who could use it during the
day and at other times when the youth clubs did not use it.
3.2.
For several years now the Young Carers Group has used the building for its meetings. Their members are
children who are caring for a sick adult at home. Pupil and Student Support have occasionally used the
building during the school day for work with excluded pupils: it is ideal for life skills and cooking
sessions, being close to Tesco’s for shopping and having a functioning and hygienic kitchen with a
cooker. They also used it for music sessions and as a base for sporting activities on the recreation ground.
We hope that this use can be made more regular.
3.3.
The Ten Forward club (for out-of-school care for children from age 9 up to 14, an extension of the Kids
R Us club which meets in the Community Centre Annexe) hired the building all Autumn Term 2003. We
had problems with many break-ins at this time, and communication with their manager was difficult, and
for various reasons the club closed after one term. There is apparently a demand for such a club for this
age group, and we hope it may happen again.
3.4.
In the new Youth Centre we expect other clubs will flourish: there is a photographic group which would
like a small dark room (aka cleaners cupboard), arts groups are coming together, and we feel sure that it
will see plenty of use.(please add/change, Liz)
4.
Partnerships
4.1.
As the Year 3 report (see Appendix B) shows, we consulted with the Football and Cricket clubs and for
18 months explored the possibility of a joint venture to extend the pavilion. This was found not to be
feasible.
4.2.
At the Parish Council meeting on 6th October 2003:
It was AGREED
to proceed with the proposal to erect a steel frame permanent
building with breeze blocks on the Sycamores car park for the
youth.
4.3.
The Youth Committee is now itself developing a plan for a replacement building. Having considered the
shortcomings and likely cost of replacement portacabins, the Parish Council recommended that we try to
4
get funding for a permanent building, constructed as cheaply as possible. We sent a preliminary rough
plan of a steel frame and concrete block building 9m x 14m to be sited where the portacabin now is, to
five design-and-build companies and have received some drawings and costings (see Appendix F). From
the two estimates received, we gauge that we can fund the project from a capital budget of about
£100,000. Consultations with the young people at youth club sessions were very positive, with some
good ideas for the detail of the design coming from some of our more challenging members.
4.4.
In December 2003 we were asked to consider whether to build this on the main Community Centre site at
Coles Road or at The Sycamores where the current youth portacabin is. Arguments were developed and
at a joint meeting of Milton Parish Council and Milton Community Centre on 28th January the meeting
overwhelmingly supported the building of a Youth Building, and the majority agreed it should be at The
Sycamores site.
(See Appendices C, G and H for further information)
4.5.
At the Parish Council meeting on 2nd February 2004:
It was AGREED (10 votes in favour, 3 against and 2 abstentions)
to authorise the youth committee to pursue the erection of a youth building at The
Sycamores recreation ground, to be managed by MPC.
5.
Human Resources
5.1.
The main assets we have are our body of youth workers and volunteers, who have built up the youth club
work in the village from one night a week to three nights, and made it more reliable. The Parish Council
Youth Committee consists of five councillors and one other villager from the MCC committee. Three of
these people regularly help at the Youth Club, and others have helped on occasions, but also organise the
youth work staffing, paperwork and registration of members, liaison with Community Education youth
workers, and purchase of food for the tuck shop.
5.2.
We have another four voluntary helpers and six paid staff who currently work at the Youth Centre, most
of them one night a week. (Short biographies of our staff and volunteers are in Appendix E.)
5.3.
There are a total of about 120 youth members at present, of whom 70 are in the youngest two years at
secondary school. In the older age group the members who attend regularly are largely those ‘hard to
reach’ teenagers, many of whom are at risk of being excluded from school. This makes for challenging
behaviour at the club, and it has been difficult to attract a broader cross-section of those age groups. The
night for the younger age group, which is run by the Parish Council, has successfully attracted a more
representative and inclusive group to the club from school years 7 and 8 (11 to13 year-olds). More
information on the attendance at youth club sessions is in the reports on Appendix B.
5.4.
We have developed a good working relationship with the County-funded youth work team, currently
based at Impington Village College, and with the County detached youth workers who sometimes work
in the village.
6.
Management and young people’s involvement
6.1.
The youth portacabin has been maintained and managed by the management team who run the Milton
Community Centre, although it is on a different site. The proposal is that the new youth building be
maintained by the Parish Council’s Youth Committee, who might call on the MCC team to organise any
major maintenance work. This arrangement is already in place for other buildings in the village.
6.2.
The organisation of the Youth Clubs is under the control of the Milton Youth Centre Management Group
(MYCMG), which reports to the Parish Council Youth Committee. This group decides on policies for all
the club nights. All Milton youth workers and the youth worker in charge at IVC have been encouraged
to attend. Two parish councillors and two members of MCC also attend, and when issues affecting the
youth club members are to be discussed there is an open invitation for members to attend. Sometimes we
have had a pre-meeting with the young people on a club night to discuss particular issues. In 2002-3 there
was a Youth Club Council on Monday evenings for 30 minutes before the club proper opened. This was
started by the then Senior Youth Worker on Mondays, Anita Porter (who is also the teacher with
responsibility for Citizenship at IVC). Ideas from the club council were put forward for consideration at
5
the following MYCMG meeting. This was a good model for consultation and involvement of young
people, but was not representative nor well attended in the end.
7.
Revenue finance
7.1.
The Parish Council budgeted £6,000 for Youth in 2000-01 and £7,700 for each of the four years 20012005. This is enough to provide two youth workers on two nights a week (£4,000), in addition to the two
evenings a week funded by the LEA. Currently we have only enough paid workers to staff one extra
night. The Parish Council also provides some funding for youth club activities over the summer (£500)
and revenue to pay the utility bills, cleaning and overheads for the Youth Centre (£2,000). The LEA
Community Education service funds youth workers to cover 30 weeks of the year on two nights a week,
and the Parish Council budgets £1,200 to extend this provision to every week in term time, and also to
secure some extra quality-assurance and management input from the Patch team, and Duke of Edinburgh
Award work.
7.2.
Actual amounts spent by the Parish Council in three financial years:
Year
00-01
01-02
02-03
566
1942
2289
2078
1344
5711
530
5181
Youth work salaries
Running costs & repairs
To IVC, extra sessions
Total expenditure
2508
2056
1860
1070
4986
Income
Net costs
600
1908
960
4026
(JIM please check this!)
7.3.
We expect that the new Youth Centre overheads and utility bills will not be significantly more than the
current ones, and that any additional letting fees will more than offset the costs of lettings. In fact the
design of the new Youth Centre will have a strong emphasis on measures to deter and prevent vandalism,
so the substantial cost of repairing vandalism and damage due to break-ins to the portacabin will be
saved.
7.4.
The charge for hire of the youth portacabin is £7.50 per hour, including use of the games equipment if
required. We gave a discretionary rate to the Ten Forward club of £6 per hour, which we would consider
extending to any group hiring the building for days at a time (15 hours a week in their case). We would
expect to charge a similar amount for the new Youth Centre.
8.
Capital finance
8.1.
The tender letter and estimates received for building our 9m x 14m steel-framed building are attached in
Appendix F.
8.2.
Budget estimates:
Removal of portacabin and clearing of site, say
Design and build
Contingency, inflation etc
Professional services (agent to oversee construction, etc)
£
5,000
75,000
15,000
5,000
100,000
+ VAT
For any contract placed by the Parish Council the VAT can be reclaimed, so we hope to raise as much
money as possible through the Parish Council. However the MCC charity can approach charitable trusts
for funding, and we will need to raise funds in this way as well.
6
Milton Youth Centre – Report on the first year of operation
The Youth Centre opened on 13th November 2000, and apart from missing a couple of
Impington Youth Club sessions in the first couple of months, has opened regularly in
school term time since then.
From the start Tony Hough had organised that we had the additional Monday Youth
Club session as well as the Thursday session which had run in the village for many
years. IVC has agreed to maintain this level of youth provision for the moment,
though we must be aware that other villages get only one night of IVC Youth Club
per week.
Since the start of 2001 the Parish Council Youth Committee has paid for and
organised the Tuesday night ‘Drop-in session’, which is intended to be a less
structured session than the Youth Club nights, but operating within the same general
rules and principles (ie following the County Youth Work curriculum and guidelines,
of which we now have a copy).
Building
The building has been mended and improved in various ways over the year: as a
temporary structure it is never intended to be perfect, but it will need regular
maintenance to keep it useable. We are very grateful to Julie, Colin and Eddie from
MCC who have dealt with most of the work (though, of course the PC has paid the
bills). The polycarbonate windows are robust (though easily scratched). The roof
seems to be waterproof now, though only deep snow will test it the way it failed last
year. We have received a grant from SCDC towards this aspect of the building. The
heaters are not very well-designed. The wiring in one has melted and needed
mending, and we feel that more robust blowers which could be switched to cold air in
the summer would be worth the investment. Hand-rails on the side of the ramps to the
doors outside the building was a condition of the SCDC grant, and the wooden one on
the front ramp has since been broken off. If this is to be replaced it should be with a
metal hand-rail which can withstand being sat on.
Equipment
We have provided several large pieces of equipment and furniture for the building
(Table tennis, Pool table, television, 2 computers, video, playstation, microwave,
kettle, fridge-freezer) to set it up, and many of these were donated. Unfortunately we
have suffered from some theft: the building is hard to make secure, having flexibleframed windows, and with children from a number of areas, not just our village,
attending from time to time obviously what equipment is there is well known in the
area.
We replaced the microwave and kettle when they were stolen, but we expect to
replace the playstation and video after Xmas. No locks have been forced as far as we
could see, and the windows, which were bent, have been strengthened now. We
bought a lockable cupboard for the TV to stand on, which needs further theft-proofing
(the video and playstation were stolen from inside it).
Staffing
The relationship with IVC has improved greatly over the year, and the staff at our
Tuesday night drop-in have met some of the IVC club staff at management meetings.
They will be invited to IVC training sessions, we hope, next year. Getting staff for
youth work is not easy, but we have made a number of useful contacts over the year.
The Monday staff have changed around, and we have 2 IVC staff plus a regular
volunteer (Paul Carey) and 2 other stand-by volunteers/workers (Sarah and Jane) who
have worked that night in the past.
On Tuesdays we are lucky to have an experienced volunteer in Andy Macpherson,
and Jackie Hutchinson, who has now completed Stage 2 of her training. We are in
need of another regular volunteer to have 3 regulars in place, and I have a possibility
in mind. We have been very grateful to Lynne Twinn and Grace Richardson who have
helped with the Tuesday club when necessary, as have a number of parent volunteers
on a one-off basis. The regulars have all completed the police-checks required.
Thursdays are running with a very stable staff group from before the Centre was
opened, and our other staff have on occasion filled in when staff have been ill.
Communication is much better now, and it should not now ever happen that the club
is not opened if a member of staff is taken ill, unless we are really unlucky and have 2
taken ill suddenly on a Parish Council night!
Cleaning of the Youth Centre has been arranged through MCC: recently Clare
Norman has been employed, for 3 hours a week. This will be increased to 4½ hours
until half-term, when we will review what is needed.
Quality Youth Club work
We had been concerned that no programme of Youth Club activities had been
available, and asked for some planning and a programme to be produced for last term.
Both IVC clubs complied, and some popular and worthwhile sessions went on. The
Graffiti Project, decorating the inside end wall of the Youth Centre was very popular
on Mondays, and there were some good craft sessions and one on drugs on Thursdays.
Numbers attending have been up to 56 (a Monday in March 2001), with an average of
40, 32, 32 in the first 3 terms, 14 in the summer, 26 this term. More young people
were hanging about outside – these numbers are those who signed in.
Other users – clubs for young teenagers
We have tried to get regular users from the Secondary School Support Team, and had
4 sessions last winter when they used the kitchen for cooking lessons with excluded
pupils. The staff were keen to use the building, but for whatever reason (maybe
price?) they have not returned. They are also very difficult to contact, and the lettings
were at short notice and not regular. Other clubs (carers support, job clubs) did not
need places to meet here in Milton.
Finances
We discussed at the start of the project and again recently whether to charge (say, 50p
per session) for members to use the Youth Club. Experience over the years has shown
that the problem of young people hanging about outside, out of control of the youth
workers, and annoying our neighbours becomes greater if we charge for entry. As one
of our priorities is to get on well with our neighbours, we have chosen not to charge.
As some materials are needed for good Youth Club work, we have agreed to an
allowance of up to £50 per club evening per term towards their materials. Much less
than the maximum has been claimed so far.
The Capital allowed for the Youth Centre still has some credit, which we would like
to carry forward towards major repairs. In addition, any future profits from hiring the
building out should be seen as a growing fund for a new building.
In the Business Plan we hoped to run a session each weekday evening. The staffing
we have at present won’t stretch to another night, but we would like to be in the
position to open on Friday evening if staff were available. The budget for next year
will be based on 2 PC-funded evenings a week, plus the extra evenings to extend the
IVC-funded 30 weeks a year to cover every day in term-time, and the support in
management and ‘quality control’ we get from Kate D’Arcy at IVC.
Next phase
Our plan was to run the Youth Centre in the portacabin for 3 years (the time for which
we have planning permission), and then, once we had seen how much it was used, to
be ready with a purpose-built permanent Youth Centre. This would be funded with
help from the Lottery, local authorities, etc.
Members of the Youth Committee (Hazel and Linda) aim to meet in January with
representatives of the sports clubs using the pavilion at the Sycamores Rec., to see
whether we can agree to a joint approach to a larger building there. If the Youth
Centre could be combined with more facilities for the Football and Cricket clubs, we
felt it might be an acceptable extension to the pavilion. Linda will be contacting a
structural engineer, to get advice about the feasibility of constructing a second storey
(on columns?) over the existing pavilion. We have looked carefully at other sites in
the village in the past, and decided that the Sycamores Rec. was the best option we
have.
It is unlikely that the money, plans, planning permission etc will be in place 18
months from now, so it seems likely that we will have to ask for further temporary
planning permission and keep the portacabin going for a bit longer.
As we are now paying rates on the portacabin, we need to organise its transfer to
MCC by the end of March as originally intended.
We hope that Karen Finney’s Kids R Us club will be using the Youth Centre every
weekday in termtime from 4 till 6:30, and every weekday in the holidays from 8 till
6:30, starting at the end of February (or later). This will bring in a considerable rent,
but will necessitate lots more cleaning (which will please the present cleaner), and
maintenance, as well as sensitive liaison with a valuable user, and sharing of some
equipment, tuck, storage, etc.
Summary of Evaluation against the Business Plan
Objectives
Most met:
œ further development of the relationship with young people and the community
ongoing.
œ further work is needed to promote the use of the building by other groups
supporting young people.
Services
œ more evening sessions to be opened: we aimed for 3 PC funded (total of 5) a week
and currently have 1 (total of 3).
Management
œ MYCMG has made a good start, but regular attendance at management meetings
by young people has been hard to achieve. We hope that SCYPP may help with
advice in due course.
Funding
œ Capital outlay on Building, Service connection and Equipment so far (to 31 Dec
01): about £13,000
(Budget £7,500 to £21,000)
œ Left in the Capital fund of £20,000 for Youth projects: £2,729
Running costs and management
œ No external agency would take on the provision of drop-in sessions, so MYCMG
are managing this with professional input via Kate D’ Arcy from IVC who
manages the Youth Club nights
œ IVC funds 2 Youth Club nights, MPC pays to extend 30 weeks a year to cover
term-time. £114 paid so far.
œ Insurance, services bills, cleaning etc: about £1420.
œ MCC have helped with handing out keys for some bookings as envisaged.
œ MCC has organised cleaners and maintenance, paid for by MPC.
Income
œ Very little from other lets. Prospects are very good if Kids R Us use the building.
Hazel Smith, 2nd January 2002
Milton Youth Centre – Report on the second year of operation
November 2001-2
Since last November we have opened the Youth Centre on almost all Mondays,
Tuesdays and Thursdays in school term time, apart from the very start of the autumn
term, when training for youth workers took place.
During the summer holidays Kate D’ Arcy from Impington Village College organised
youth club sessions every weekday afternoon for the first 3 weeks. These were in the
end funded by South Cambs District Council, with the Parish Council providing a
loan to cover out-of-pocket expenses before the grant came through. This summer we
had no repeat of the problems we had had in the previous years (mindless gangs of
young people vandalising play areas, and a series of fires in litter bins).
We have also been grateful to Cambridgeshire County Council for the provision of
our detached youth workers, Kate and Alan, who have been in the village one night a
week finding young people wherever they are hanging out and making contact with
them.
Building
The portacabin was formally transferred to the Milton Community Centre charity
from the Parish Council on 1st April 2002. We are grateful to the employees Julia,
Colin and Eddie from MCC who have dealt with most of the maintenance work and to
Clare for cleaning 3 hours a week.
The building has been broken into twice more this summer, and chocolate has been
stolen from our tuck cupboard by forcing the door. Drinks in the fridge were left
undisturbed. In both cases the theft was less than our insurance excess. We have
decided not to use the kitchen unit to store tuck any more, and Eddie has added a shelf
in the big cupboard which we can use for this. On both occasions the kitchen windows
were forced open. Windows which were particularly vulnerable have been screwed
shut now so that they will not open at all.
Equipment
This year we have added a toaster to the kitchen equipment, as we found that many of
the young people were coming to youth club not having eaten, and filling up on
chocolate and sweets, as well as pot noodles and microchips. Toast is now our biggest
seller from the coffee bar.
Following the thefts last year we replaced the playstation, but we still have no video,
which does not seem to be a problem (we could borrow one from IVC when
necessary). The two original computers had quite a lot of use before they became
unreliable and have now been scrapped. The Clerk’ s old computer is now hooked up
to the internet in the youth building for young people to use. We are researching ‘netnanny’ -type software, which we hope to install soon. We are in the process of getting
table football to provide more variety in the games available. A second TV has been
donated, which allows the TV and playstation both to be used.
Several of the green soft chairs were destroyed, particularly over the summer when
there was a short spell of rather uncontrolled behaviour from some young people
attending the club, which took a week or two to bring under control. The Youth Club
Council has asked us to try to find more settees: if anyone has one they are throwing
out, please consider donating it.
The detached youth workers have asked for a Notice Board to go up in the passage
beside Tesco where young people meet, on which they could advertise youth
activities in the area.
Staffing
We have continued to work cooperatively with IVC, with Tuesday night’ s “Drop in”
staff attending IVC training sessions and liaison meetings. Getting staff for youth
work is not easy, but we have again made a number of useful contacts over the year.
On Mondays we were paying Sarah Ross to cover the third “volunteer” youth worker
post: she has now been replaced by Joe Wickens who has joined us as a volunteer.
On Tuesdays we are lucky to have an experienced volunteer in Andy Macpherson, as
well as Jackie Hutchinson, who we pay. We had Paul Uttin as volunteer most of the
year, and since September Liz Baker has been filling that post regularly. Sharon
Tipple, another villager who is a trained youth worker, is now covering this post on
alternate weeks. We have been very grateful to Lynne Twinn and Liz who have
helped out with the Tuesday club when necessary. New CRB forms for police
checking have been acquired from EPM in Huntingdon, and those of our regular staff
for Tuesday nights who are not yet police checked will be filling these in this term.
(We pay just £2.50 per person for this.)
Thursdays are running with a very stable staff group from before the Centre was
opened, and our other staff have on occasion filled in when these staff have been ill.
We had just one night last term when youth club could not open because of lack of
staff (on the night of the IVC Year 8 disco).
Quality Youth Club work
There has been no published programme but a variety of craft and sporting activities
have been organised. On Mondays the Youth Club Council has met weekly since
Easter, discussing and suggesting improvements for the club. They organised an endof-term barbecue in the summer, which was a success, and also formed the core of the
helpers for the Youth Club stall at the Village Fayre.
The Summer holiday workshops included go-cart making, cooking, basketball
coaching, kayaking, DJ sessions and a skate park trip.
Average Numbers signed in
School Year
Autumn term
Spring term Summer term
Holidays
40
32
32
14
2000-2001
26
26
17
13
2001-2002
More young people were generally hanging about outside – these numbers are those
who signed in.
Young people at the club have been involved in deciding on the equipment to be
ordered for the Skate Park, and have also raised nearly £300 towards it by a car wash
at Easter and participating in the Edmund House sponsored walk (or run) in
September.
Other users – clubs for young teenagers
Since Easter the Young Carers project have been meeting on Saturday mornings once
a fortnight at the Youth Centre. This group is based at Centre 33, and gives support
through activity sessions to young children who are responsible for caring for a
disabled adult at home. We are really pleased to have our centre used by these
children. They find the facilities are ideal for them, with table tennis, snooker and the
outdoor play equipment and sports field there, and the possibility of doing some
cooking for fun. An even younger group of carers is now also meeting there on
alternate Wednesdays. The Kids R Us after school club is still oversubscribed, and
hopes to use the building for older children when they can recruit enough staff.
Finances
The Capital allowed for the Youth Centre still has some credit, which we would like
to carry forward towards major repairs. In addition, any future profits from hiring the
building out should be seen as a growing fund for a new building.
In the Business Plan we hoped to run a session each weekday evening. We spent a lot
of time in the Summer term liaising with Ridley Hall over trying to arrange for a
student on the Christian Youth Work course there to join us for a placement. This
would have allowed us to stretch the staff we have available over 4 night a week and
open on a Friday. However, even after interviewing several students, this came to
nothing.
The budget for next year will be based on 2 Parish Council funded evenings a week,
plus the extra evenings to extend the IVC-funded 30 weeks a year to cover every day
in term-time, and the support in management and ‘quality control’ we get from Kate
D’ Arcy the Patch Youth Work Coordinator at IVC.
Next phase
Our plan was to run the Youth Centre in the portacabin for 3 years, and then, once we
had seen how much it was used, to be ready with a purpose-built permanent Youth
Centre. This would be funded with help from the Lottery, local authorities, etc. The
planning permission runs out in June 2003, and we will be contacting the planners in
March to apply for an extension to this planning permission.
Members of the Youth Committee (Hazel and Linda) met in January and April with
representatives of the sports clubs using the pavilion at the Sycamores Rec., to agree a
joint approach to a larger building there. If the Youth Centre could be combined with
more facilities for the Football and Cricket clubs, we felt it might be an acceptable
extension to the pavilion. A plan was drawn up by Paul Seaman, and costed roughly
at up to £350,000. The planning department at the District Council have been
consulted, and are broadly in agreement with our ideas.
Applications will need to be made by MCC to Sport England for the pavilion
improvements, and separately to the Community Fund for the Youth Centre part of
the project. We should also research other grant-making trusts that might contribute.
The Community Fund has a limit of £300,000. We will need a detailed business plan
for the building and a substantial consultation exercise to convince them that the
village as a whole supports our ideas. If we decide to commit ourselves to going
through a Parish Plan consultation, funding of up to £6,000 is available for this from
the Vital Villages fund.
Sport England could pay up to 50% of the cost of the pavilion improvements. Their
priorities include increasing the use of sports facilities by young people, girls and
women. A larger club room and a first aid room together with separate toilets for the
two sexes will certainly be easy to argue for. The sports clubs will have to prepare a
sports development plan for the village. It is possible that the District Council may be
able to make a grant towards one or both parts of the project. If the Parish Council
were able to commit to a level of funding, this would obviously help.
Summary of Evaluation against the Business Plan from 2000
Objectives
Most met:
œ further development of the relationship with young people and the community
ongoing. We hope the detached youth work and the Club Council will lead
naturally to a democratic Youth Council of some kind.
œ further work is needed to promote the use of the building by other groups
supporting young people.
Services
œ more evening sessions to be opened: we aimed for 3 PC funded (total of 5) a week
and currently have 1 (total of 3).
Management
œ MYCMG has made a good start, but regular attendance at management meetings
by young people has been hard to achieve. Input from the Youth Club Council has
been a valuable way to learn of their ideas.
Funding
œ Left in the Capital fund of £20,000 for Youth projects: £2729
Running costs and management
œ No external agency would take on the provision of drop-in sessions, so MYCMG
are still managing this with professional input via Kate D’ Arcy from IVC who
manages the Youth Club nights
œ IVC funds 2 Youth Club nights, MPC pays to extend 30 weeks a year to cover
term-time. Cost in financial year: £1070
œ Insurance, services bills, cleaning etc: about £1500 pa.
œ Young Carers collect the key from Linda’ s house, as MCC is not staffed on
Saturday mornings.
œ MCC has organised cleaners and maintenance, paid for by MPC.
Income
œ Very little from other lets. Prospects are still very good if Kids R Us start using
the building.
Hazel Smith, 20th October 2002
Milton Youth Centre – Report on the third year of operation
November 2002-3
In the year 2000, we had one Youth Club night per week in Milton, held in the
Annexe, with 2 or 3 youth leaders, and 6 regular members; club nights were too often
cancelled at no notice, and no other evening slot was free in any of the suitable halls
in the village. We had a particular problem with drunken parties of young teenagers
on the recreation grounds and a lot of vandalism. At that time, there were 2 Youth
Club nights in Impington and one in Girton, all these being run by Impington Patch
(with funding from the LEA, Cambridgeshire County Council Education Committee).
Since the Youth Portacabin opened, the numbers of people helping as Youth Workers
or volunteers in our village has more than quadrupled. Still more people are involved
on committees and helping in other ways. Last year we had over 100 members signed
up at the Youth Centre, and it looks as if we will have more by the end of this year.
Youth Club sessions have been regular and during the year we have opened the Youth
Centre on almost all Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in school term time. Over the
past 3 years when there has been uncertainty in the administration of the Patch youth
work from Impington Village College, our local team has ensured that the sessions
have happened on schedule, typically by finding replacement staff at short notice. At
the start of this term Milton kept its 3 club nights going, while both Girton and
Histon-and-Impington had no regular youth club sessions.
Impington Village College has now told the LEA that it wishes to withdraw from its
role in providing a youth service in its patch, and a new larger administrative area is
likely to be formed encompassing Impington, Cottenham and Swavesey Village
College Patches, to take over in a staged process starting after Christmas. This will be
funded directly by the LEA, and will have the resources at the centre to provide the
quality leadership and administration of youth work, including supervision, support,
appraisal and training for Youth Workers, which has been lacking to a large degree
over these years.
Elsewhere in the village, the detached youth workers, Kate and Kenny, had been
visiting the village one night a week, but were moved over to visit Histon instead
during the year.
Building
The Youth Portacabin is maintained by the Milton Community Centre charity with
support from the Parish Council. We are grateful to the employees Julia, Colin and
Eddie from MCC who have dealt with most of the maintenance work and to Dora
who has been cleaning there daily.
The building was badly broken into just before the summer holidays, with a lot of
damage to doors and windows, and theft of a small amount of chocolate and drinks. A
further break-in happened in October and again on 23rd November. In all cases the
theft was less than our insurance excess. MCC has claimed for the damage to the
building. The kitchen and cupboard doors are now to be properly replaced, and we are
looking into methods of reinforcing the windows. MCC staff are investigating the
occasional leaks in the roof, and will be strengthening one corner by the fire door
when their time allows.
Equipment
This year we have added a table football game (after extensive research), which is
proving popular. Liz has sorted out the problems with the computers we were using,
and we now have a reliable computer and a printer, with internet access.
Again more of the green soft chairs fell apart during the year, but we were given a
second hand suite which provides cosy seating near the TV. Further settees will
probably always be welcomed. Hazel has lent a square dining table, and bought some
chairs from Emmaus, to provide an area for crafts and board games, and we have been
given a big computer table.
Staffing
We have continued to work cooperatively with IVC, who organise and pay for the
staffing on Mondays and Thursdays. Getting staff for youth work is not easy, but we
have increased our number of volunteers significantly over the year. Joe Wickens
worked as a volunteer on Mondays all last year and gained credit for his Duke of
Edinburgh Gold Award. We now have Mel, a long-standing member, as a young
leader on Mondays and some Tuesdays. The two regular workers on a Monday, Iain
and Anita, are both changing their schedules very soon, and Andy Macpherson (who
volunteered for us for years on Tuesdays) will be employed to cover one of the posts.
The other is uncertain at the moment.
On Tuesdays Jackie and Neil Hutchinson have now started the Junior Club night. Liz
Baker and Sharon Tipple have been filling the volunteer post in turns. We also now
have an additional new volunteer Andy Woodman on a Tuesday. Ian Cowley has
volunteered to help, and will be taking over from Liz on Tuesday evenings. We have
been very grateful to Lynne Twinn, Linda Henderson and Liz who have helped out
additionally with the Tuesday club and other nights when necessary. The
recommended (CRB) checks have been completed on all our (Tuesday) paid staff and
volunteers.
Thursdays are now continuing with a very stable staff group from before the Centre
was opened. Peter had been off ill since the start of term, and Andy Mac was covering
the evening as a volunteer to begin with. Later on Sarah’ s partner Dave Hill did a
month of filling in. Peter is now back and intends to carry on, though Sarah will take
the lead role on that night. Sue Jones is our Thursday volunteer. Liz works on
Thursdays with a club member who has learning difficulties, under the County
Council Youth Buddy Scheme.
We had just one night so far this term when youth club could not open because of
staff illness. On Thurs 30th Jan 2003 when Milton was snowed up the club was
cancelled; on Tues 8th April it was cancelled for a youth workers meeting.
Quality Youth Club work
Margaret Ward (a highly regarded local youth work trainer) had offered to appraise
the youth work in our village in general and to give the Parish Council some pointers
to a possible way for improvement. She visited the clubs last term, and has given us
an interim report. We hope that further work will follow this term, subject to pressures
on her time. On Tuesdays there has been a very successful programme of activities for
the Junior Club. There has been no published programme for the Monday or Thursday
clubs, but a variety of craft and sporting activities have been organised. On Mondays
the Youth Club Council has met occasionally, discussing and suggesting
improvements for the club.
During the summer holidays Kate D’ Arcy from Impington Village College organised
a programme of sessions for the first 4 weeks, with some very poorly attended
afternooon sessions for girls and younger members held elsewhere in the village, a
girls seaside trip, and some youth club evenings with crafts, cooking and basketball
coaching which were very successful. These will be funded by South Cambs District
Council, with the Parish Council providing a loan to cover out-of-pocket expenses
before the grant came through.
We were lucky to have Liz Baker volunteering to organise a Youth News-sheet
“ Milton 11-18” which was distributed round the village just before the Summer
holidays, publicising the summer programme. She also organised a 2-day
Photography Workshop including dark-room developing and computer processing of
digital images, which 16 young people attended, and which was a huge success.
We had discussed with the young people the possibility of a club night for Years 7
and 8 only, and the self-interest of the older children ensured that it was an unpopular
idea. However with very few younger members, and the regularly attending older
members being predominantly those characters that most intimidate the youngsters,
we had to take some initiative to get younger children into the club this year. We
started a Junior Club on Tuesdays from September. Older children still hang about
outside (we needed several ‘bouncers’ for the first couple of months) but as the
numbers of Year 7 and 8’ s attending has increased, this has been proved to be
worthwhile in spite of continued aggravation from some of the older ones. Some of
the bolder younger children are starting to attend on a Monday night as well, now.
Average Numbers signed in
School Year
Autumn term
Spring term Summer term
Holidays
40
32
32
14
2000-2001
26
26
17
13
2001-2002
21
20
16
?
2002-2003
Junior club: 24
2003-2004
Y9 up: 21
More young people were generally hanging about outside – these numbers are those
who signed in.
Young people at the club have been involved in looking at equipment to be added to
the Skate Park, and preliminary talks about a new building. They raised some money
through a car wash after Easter.
Other users – clubs for young teenagers
The Young Carers have continued to meet on Saturday mornings once a fortnight at
the Youth Centre. This group is based at Centre 33, and gives support through activity
sessions to young children who are responsible for caring for a disabled adult at
home. We are really pleased to have our centre used by these children. They find the
facilities are ideal for them, with table football, snooker and the outdoor play
equipment and sports field there, and the possibility of doing some cooking for fun.
The Kids R Us after school club has started using the building for its Ten Forward
club for older children, from 3-6pm after school and 8am-6pm in the holidays, since
September. This involved a little rearranging of storage space and there has generally
been a harmonious relationship day to day with the youth clubs.
Finances
The Capital allowed for the Youth Centre still has some credit, which we would like
to carry forward towards major repairs. In addition, any future profits from hiring the
building out should be seen as a growing fund for a new building. In the Business
Plan we hoped to run a session each weekday evening. We considered starting a
Friday evening club, but decided we should consolidate at the moment and try to
establish quality youth work to attract wider membership on the evenings we open.
The budget for next year will be based on 2 Parish Council funded evenings a week,
plus the extra evenings to extend the IVC-funded 35 weeks to cover every day in
term-time. A list of session dates for this school year has been agreed with IVC. IVC
have not asked for funding for the Duke of Edinburgh Award work, and management
and ‘quality control’ we got from the Patch Youth Work Coordinator last year. Kate
D’ Arcy has been replaced by Iain Bell, who is not himself qualified to give this
support.
Milton Youth Centre - Long term plan: a permanent building
Our plan was to run the Youth Centre in the portacabin for 3 years, and then, once we
had seen how much it was used, to be ready with a purpose-built permanent Youth
Centre. The planning permission was renewed in June 2003 for another 3 years, but
the portacabin is showing its age and must be replaced sooner than 2006.
Extending the Pavilion
Members of the Youth Committee (Hazel and Linda) continued to meet regularly with
representatives of the sports clubs using the pavilion at the Sycamores Rec., to agree a
joint approach to a larger building there for sport and youth. We found that the sports
club committees were having their own problems recruiting committee members,
although the numbers playing sport, especially youngsters’ teams, had never been
greater. After meeting for 18 months, Hazel and Linda had represented the group
(with Doug) in representations to the Football Foundation and the Sports Council
about funding, and Sport Development Plans were needed from the clubs, together
with a Business Plan for managing the project. A letter went to all families
participating in sports, asking that they consider helping this pavilion extension
project. Little or no response came back. A questionnaire was delivered in the Village
View to every house in the village (1800 houses), to ask for support for our ideas to
extend the pavilion. Only 33 were returned. This approach has therefore been
abandoned.
New Youth Building
The Youth Committee is now itself developing a plan for a replacement building.
Having considered the shortcomings and likely cost of replacement portacabins, the
Parish Council recommended that we try to get funding for a permanent building,
constructed as cheaply as possible. We have sent a preliminary rough plan of a steel
frame and concrete block building 9m x 14m to be sited where the portacabin now is,
to several design-and-build companies and are awaiting drawings and costings.
The Community Fund (Lottery) has an offputting schedule strict set of steps to be
followed for a building application. Youth is still not a priority for them, and in their
terms they are unlikely to consider us a worthy area to support.
WREN may provide some funding to the Parish Council if the building is for general
community use, available for anyone to hire, which is perfectly feasible. The 11% socalled “ 3rd party” funding for this can be given back by the Parish Council itself if it
sets up a separate Building Fund bank account for this purpose!
SCDC have a category for Youth Drop-in Centres and may give up to 25% of the cost
provided we can show we have discussed the project with the young people in the
village and worked up our plans in consultation with them.
There are charities which support youth projects, which MCC could ask to support
this building plan. (Money paid to MCC and used for this building will be less
valuable to the village than if it is paid to the Parish Council as VAT will be payable
on all bills paid by MCC. However these charities will only give to other charities.)
We ask the Parish Council to consider setting aside £20,000 towards this project in
the next financial year.
We also ask MCC to consider allocating £20,000 towards this building.
Summary of Evaluation against the Business Plan from 2000, at
November 2003
Objectives
Most have been met:
œ further development of the relationship with young people and the community is
ongoing. We hope that the Club Council and membership cards will lead naturally
to a democratic Youth Council of some kind.
œ further work is needed to promote the use of the building by other groups
supporting young people. Pupil and Student Support use it occasionally. Ten
Forward (every day) and Young Carers fortnightly are the regular hirers.
Services
œ more evening sessions to be opened if the demand increases and staffing is
available: we aimed for 3 PC funded (total of 5) a week and currently have 1 (total
of 3).
Management
œ MYCMG has representatives from the Parish Council, the Milton Community
Centre and youth workers, but regular attendance at management meetings by
young people has been hard to achieve (3 at the last meeting). Input from the
Youth Club Council has been a valuable way to learn of their ideas, but a more
structured system of representation is needed. The new membership card system
may help with this (we can organise referenda).
Funding
œ Left in the Capital fund for Youth projects: £2,729 of which up to £500 has
recently been voted for repairs.
Running costs and management
œ No external agency would take on the management of the Tuesday evening
sessions, so MYCMG are still managing this in liaison with Iain Bell from IVC.
IVC funds 2 Youth Club nights, MPC paid to extend the 30 weeks a year to cover
term-time, and also for management and Duke of Edinburgh Award work.
Cost for last school year: £1,214.73
œ Insurance, services bills, cleaning etc: about £2,422.74 (most is cleaning)
œ Youth Workers, Tuesdays, we paid about £1,182.91. This will be more next year,
as we are now paying 2 staff for Tuesday evenings.
œ Young Carers collect the key from Linda’ s house, as MCC is not staffed on
Saturday mornings.
œ Ten Forward have their own keys
œ MCC has organised cleaners and maintenance.
Income
œ Prospects are very good with Ten Forward also now using the building.
Hazel Smith, 24th November 2003
Location of Youth Building in Milton
For Milton Parish Council/
Milton Community Centre
Joint Meeting
Wednesday 28th January 2004
Abstract .........................................................................................................................2
Youth work overview...................................................................................................3
Youth work core principles.....................................................................................3
Youth work in Milton....................................................................................................4
What is a youth building? ...........................................................................................5
What is needed in a youth building for MYC? ........................................................5
Facilities the youth club has already proved a need for....................................5
Supporting space for interaction ...........................................................................6
Supporting space for young person - youth worker conversation ...................7
Supporting space for new opportunities ..............................................................7
Background to the Current Situation ........................................................................8
Next Steps ....................................................................................................................9
Locating a youth building at The Sycamores Recreation Ground .................... 10
Locating a youth building at Coles Road Community Centre ........................... 11
Conclusion................................................................................................................. 12
1
Abstract
This document examines and proves the need for youth provision in Milton.
The youth club is more than just a social place, there is actual youth work
going on. See Youth Work Overview, Youth Work Core Principles and Youth
Work in Milton for detailed information.
Changes made over the last twelve months have seen the numbers rise to
45% of children in an academic year attending the club.
See Youth Work in Milton for detailed information.
A youth building has the facilities to support the youth work.
See What is a youth building? and Supporting space for interaction for
detailed information.
The youth club used to be held at Coles Road and it caused lots of
problems. The club has thrived at The Sycamores whilst addressing the
problems.
See Background to the Current Situation for detailed information.
The Youth Committee of Milton Parish Council gives its opinion that a youth
building at The Sycamores recreation ground would be the preferable option
for the village as a whole.
See Conclusion for detail information.
2
Youth work overview
Youth work helps young people learn about themselves, others and
society, through informal educational activities which combine enjoyment,
challenge and learning.
Youth workers work with young people aged between 11 and 25,
particularly those aged between 13 and 19, in order to promote their
personal and social development and enable them to have a voice,
influence and place in their communities and society as a whole.
Youth work is conducted according to a set of values which include a
commitment to equal opportunity, to young people as partners in learning
and decision-making and to helping young people to develop their own
sets of values.
(National Youth Agency Guide to Youth Work & Services -UK)
The Government, in its document, “Transforming Youth Work” considers
that quality youth work:
•
SUPPORT: Offers quality support to young people, which helps
them achieve and progress
•
EQUALITY: Enables young people to have their voice heard and
influence decision making at all levels
•
EDUCATION: Provides a diverse range of personal and social
development opportunities
•
PARTICIPATION: Helps prevent disaffection and social exclusion
Youth work core principles
Youth work is based upon:
• The creation of informal and flexible learning opportunities for young
people.
• A negotiated voluntary relationship between the young person and the
youth worker.
• An approach that is not normally based on predetermined targets; but
targets that are agreed by the youth worker and young person.
• Connecting with the young person's own starting points, their existing
interests, needs and experience and working at their own pace.
• Strategies to minimise the power relationship between the worker and
the young person.
• Ways of working that actively challenge oppressive behaviour and
structures.
• Enabling young people to create ways in which their voices can
develop and through which this voice can be heard.
3
Youth work in Milton
Several organised groups undertake youth work in Milton. Milton Youth Club
is a part of the overall work.
The professional youth work at Milton Youth Club is funded partly by
government youth money via Cambridgeshire County Council/Impington
Village College and partly by Milton Parish Council. Milton Parish Council
supports the club in a number of ways including providing staffing,
administration and facilities. The County/Impington Village College provides
youth worker administration and support and access to other funding streams.
Milton Parish Council believes that providing facilities for the young people is
helping to reduce the incidents of anti-social behaviour in the village by giving
them other ways to use their energy.
Milton Youth Club opens from 7pm until 9pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and
Thursdays in term time. Mondays are for all members. Tuesdays are for years
7 (11 to 12) and 8 (12 to 13) and Thursdays are for year 9 and upward.
(13+)The membership is secondary school age (11 years old up to 19).
Milton has a population of 4,275 (Census 2001) of which 25% (1068) are 19
and under. Of that 25% in any academic year 52% (555) are entitled to attend
Milton Youth Club.
The current membership of Milton Youth Club stands at 110 (approximately
20% of those entitled to attend).
Changes made by the Milton Youth Centre Management Group (MYCMG) in
the last six months have meant that the membership for years 7 and 8 has
grown to be 45% of those in Milton (non-Milton residents excluded from
calculations) who are entitled to attend on Tuesday nights. MYCMG intends to
consolidate the progress that has been made this year and ensure that similar
numbers are achieved for every new year 7.
Replicating this success would see membership of 221 (45% of each year
group for the age range applicable) each year by 2010.
4
What is a youth building?
A place to draw young people to so they can
• meet socially
• learn to interact with one another
• talk to adults who support them
• take advantage of new opportunities provided for them
• learn to interact with other members of their community
• have ownership in the building, a place for them.
What is needed in a youth building for MYC?
A café-style layout has emerged through consultation1, experience2 and
guidance3 as the most practical, effective and preferable for both youth work
and the Milton Youth Club. This maximizes the space available whilst
providing support for youth work through facilities.
All facilities tie in to youth work either as an end in themselves (computers
with Internet access promote IT literacy and provide opportunities to access
new information) or as a means to an end (pool is an activity that entertains
members whilst at the same time being a tool that youth workers can utilise
for communication such as drawing out a member about their worries or
bringing up an issue such as the new laws about cannabis).
Facilities the youth club has already proved a need for
Disabled access
Groupings of tables and chairs for activities and small social groups
Kitchen for cookery
Computers with Internet Access (eventually six or eight plus server in secure
location)
Pool, ping-pong and table football
Television and video and playstation
Sofas
Music system
Separate space for individual and group work
Blackboards for member input and discussion facility
Notice boards for information and communication
Secure storage for food
Secure storage for electrical equipment
Secure storage for confidential files.
1
Consultation with youth workers and members took place over a three-year period and was
revisited in 2003
2
The collective experience of youth workers and volunteers from previous work and time at
MYC and also from the members at MYC.
3
Information from Connexions, the Government youth work agency
5
Supporting space for interaction
The space in a youth building needs to encourage talking and interaction.
Interaction in this sense is primarily between the youth club members.
Although youth workers are engaged with the young people the aim is to
encourage the young people to function independently as individuals and as a
group We have different spaces in the room that facilitate this. These are
examples of how we use the facilities we have currently.
•
Sofas positioned at right angles give comfortable seating whilst
allowing a group to form in a relaxed manner. The television can act as
a focal point for attention but the seating allows conversation to go on
around and about what is showing. Youth workers are able to take
advantage of the discussion opportunities given to them by
programmes such as ‘EastEnders’.
•
The pool table is always a focal point because people enjoy playing
and watching. Whilst a game is being played young people talk to each
other and the youth workers in a much more friendly and easy manner
because the focus is on the pool, not on them directly. Seating around
the pool table and the discussion blackboard draws people in to the
group and the discussion.
•
The hatch into the kitchen allows one-to-one casual interaction with the
youth worker who is on tuck shop duty. The tuck shop allows gives
young people a legitimate reason to interact with an adult which often
turns into longer conversations or activities with a youth club member
who needs to be a little apart from his peers for a while.
•
The large table allows us to put out an activity and to make it visible to
those in the rest of the room. The hard chairs around the table let a
group expand and contract in size without making it appear that there
are many gaps or overcrowding. More tables with high-backed chairs
are needed to allow different groups to form and different activities to
take place in each group.
•
The computer bench with computers for use on the sidelines of the
main room allow larger groups to focus on the screen when something
of particular interest is available. It also allows computer users to
remain part of the social group.
Young people do not walk into the building at 7pm and leave at 9pm. The
outside is equally important to a youth building.
•
The outside has been well-used in official activities. There have been
basketball workshops, football, rounders, man-hunt (a version of hideand-seek played around the playing fields), football on the grass and
the multi-purpose court.
6
•
Unplanned games of basketball spring up on the basketball courts, the
skaters visit the club when it becomes too cold to be outside, the youth
club owns a football and games are played on the multipurpose court
just about every week it is fine enough.
•
Young people sit outside even during the club, sometimes because it is
hot, sometimes because they want privacy from those inside the
building, sometimes because there is not enough room and sometimes
to smoke (not that smoking is encouraged, but those over 16 are
entitled to smoke). They use the space around the building as an
extension of the club and will begin gathering before the club opens
and are slow to go home afterwards. The space is somewhere they
can be safe but reasonably unobserved.
•
Some youth club members drive, especially now the Connexions brief
has raised our upper age limit to 19 (official school age). The barriers in
the car park and the locked gate prevent drivers being tempted by an
open space. The location of the small amount of car parking available
means that activity can be monitored unobtrusively from the youth club.
The car drivers are nearly all regular youth club attendees from
previous years and it helps to be able to accommodate them within the
club instead of refusing to have anything to do with them.
Supporting space for young person - youth worker
conversation
The current space is limited in that there is no real facility for private and
confidential discussions between a youth worker and one or two young
people. The kitchen has been used but it is not ideal because of the close
presence of other people - the youth worker on tuck shop duty and the other
youth club members through the hatch. A place for such interaction is a
priority.
Work with small groups on more serious topics can be very difficult when in
the same room as everyone else. A space for group work and activities
around a table would be very useful especially in demarcating a group
interested in an activity from those who are not interested. This would be
especially helpful in reiterating the message that some things require a
standard of behaviour for participation to be allowed.
Supporting space for new opportunities
The youth work teams aim to create relevant opportunities for young people.
Activities have included: building computers, cooking fajitas, cakes and
biscuits, organizing events and outings, art work, creative crafts sessions,
conkers, marbles, basketball, football, rounders.
The activities so far have been dependent on the space available. More
computers would allow more structured ICT work. A greater number of
smaller seating areas would allow different work and more intimate groups to
form. This in turn makes youth work easier and more productive.
7
Background to the Current Situation
Milton Parish Council supports the youth work in Milton and the provision of
youth facilities as a measure in compliance with Section 17 of the Crime and
Disorder Act 1998 (all relevant authorities have a duty to consider the impact
of all their functions and decisions on crime and disorder in their local area).
Also Sections 5-7 and 17 require local authorities and the police, with other
key agencies and the community, to work together at district level to develop
and implement strategies for reducing crime (and the fear of crime) and
disorder in the area. Providing youth facilities is one of these strategies.
The provision of a youth building on The Sycamores recreation ground was a
response to the issues that came out of the youth club’s former presence at
the Coles Road community centre.
The youth club was then funded solely by the County Council through
Impington Village College. The Parish Council entered into partnership with
the County Council as part of its crime prevention and reduction strategy.
The club used the community centre on a Thursday night.There were many
issues arising from this.
Probably the greatest of these issues was the intimidation by the young
people perceived by other users of the community centre, especially by
elderly people, some of whom were frightened to come to the community
centre. The placing of the youth centre at The Sycamores recreation solved
this.
The integrated facilities at the community centre meant that other users were
affected by the presence of the young people and by the sound of their
activities. The Sycamores placement mostly resolved this as the sports
facilities are close but not integrated with the youth building.
Youth workers were expected to control the young people to an
unacomplishable (and sometimes unfair) level, something that took them
away from proactive youth work. The current site allows young people more
freedom.
There was, for a time, a security officer employed to counter the presence of
the young people. The Sycamores site has less opportunities for vandelism,
being largely empty.
Drug dealers would drive their cars behind the community centre on to the
playing fields where it was dark and unlit and impossible to police. The
Sycamores car park barriers have solved this to a large extent and the car
park is clearly visible from inside the youth building.
The youth club was not able to use the Coles Road courts as they were
mostly in use. At The Sycamores the multi-purpose court is almost always
free.
8
The young people felt they had no stake in the building and had no sense of
ownership. They felt barely tolerated and were not comfortable, responding by
trying to stake territory in ways that are perceived as negative by other
people. The youth building has been very successful in fostering that sense of
ownership and belonging - young people frequently refer to it as ‘ours’ and
enjoy rearranging the furniture, putting things up on the walls and still take
great pride in ‘their’ mural on one wall. Apart from possibly two exceptions, the
young people mostly respect the building and its contents so long as they feel
that the adults are respecting it as well. The table football, the computer, the
re-covered pool table and the stereo have all been treated rather well (these
were new or in good condition).
Unfortunately, the portacabin - not new when it arrived - is showing signs of
wear and tear, mostly in ways that are not the fault of the young people. It is
becoming unfit for use and it needs to be replaced.
Next Steps
Investigation has shown that a permanent building is the most cost-effective,
long-term solution. This fits in with the original plan set down by the Parish
Council. The intention was always to replace the portacabin with a permanent
building.
On January 5th 2004 at the Parish Council meeting the idea of removing the
youth building from The Sycamores recreation ground and instead building an
extension at the Coles Road site was mooted.
9
Locating a youth building at The Sycamores
Recreation Ground
Advantages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
No disturbance and perceived intimidation to other users of the
Community Centre - Crime and Disorder Act compliance.
Other youth facilities i.e. skate park, basketball court are at The
Sycamores.
Purpose built youth building with all the facilities to support youth work.
Neighbours used to activity already.
No loss of green space for the village’s biggest resource
No competition between youth club and other groups for use of Coles
Road extension
New building designed to be properly secure
New building designed to be suitable for youth presence.
New building will need less attention, freeing up staff.
Disadvantages
•
•
•
•
•
Poor disability access across car park.
Difficult for MCC staff to manage. New buildings need less
maintenance.
Security problems arising from isolation. Would be less with a building
that wasn’t so easy to get into.
Difficulties of attracting other partners and therefore funding. Working
on it. The darkroom idea is getting responses.
Coles Road extension would need to be built for a different plan
through a different funding stream.
10
Locating a youth building at Coles Road Community
Centre
Advantages
•
•
•
•
•
As part of a larger project for MCC it could attract funding.
A loan could be secured after October 2005 (when present loan
expires). Although this applies to other locations
Easier for staff to manage.
More facilities for other groups e.g. Scouts, Guides, Kids R Us (though
other uses must not conflict with evening (youth) use) As this could be
four evenings a week within two years, there won’t be much use
available.
Teenagers should be valued as part of the community. Being based at
Coles Road would enable them to interact with other members of the
community. This is unlikely to happen in a positive manner on an adhoc basis.
Disadvantages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Disturbance to other users and neighbours e.g. Barnabas Court.
Possible loss of green space.
Would parents of younger children be comfortable with older youths
“hanging around”?
Cars of youth club members attracted to the youth club, taking up
parking places and causing concern.
Sports facilities not available for ad-hoc use.
Not near the current facilities that have been built for young people,
would fragment the focus.
Rules out possibility of extending Coles Road facilities to provide more
sports facilities.
More security needed on all the buildings in the Coles Road area.
Young people under more observation and therefore more likely to
move off into places where they are not observed.
Youth building facilities not ideal for other groups.
Compromises could mean youth building not ideal for youth club.
Prime time evening slots booked out by youth club - less use for other
groups than an extension to Coles Road after a youth building provided
at The Sycamores.
Perceived intimidation of other users by young people.
Non-compliance with the Crime and Disorder Act in light of previous
decisions taken.
11
Conclusion
The Parish Council has an obligation under the Crime and Disorder Act to
consider the implications of any decisions it makes on Crime and the Fear of
Crime. Since we justified moving the Youth Club away from Coles Road on
the grounds of Fear of Crime it is inconsistent to move back now. We would
need to have very pressing reasons to do it, to override the Fear of Crime
argument, given the problems we had in the past with groups of young people
hanging around the Community Centre entrance being seen as intimidating.
The Youth Committee of Milton Parish Council think it best that any
permanent Youth Building is sited at The Sycamores Recreation Ground for
the reasons outlined in this document and the supporting evidence provided.
However, the Youth Committee acknowledges that the building plan (which
will probably cost £100,000) is unlikely to proceed without support from MCC.
12
Staff employed at Milton Youth Centre
Peter Gillings has worked with Milton’ s youth since the early 1980’ s, and was our senior youth worker for
many years. He headed a very stable team which still staffs the club on Thursday evenings. He has also worked
on the Connections Bus in many villages in South Cambridgeshire including Milton.
Sarah Ross is an experienced youth worker who became our senior youth worker on Thursdays in 2003. She
works at the Youth Centre on both Monday and Thursday evenings in addition to working for Connections. Her
partner Dave Hill, an experienced youth work trainer who works for Pupil and Student Support, also
occasionally helps out at the youth club.
Andy Macpherson has a background in church youth work, including at Romsey Mill in Cambridge, and has
worked with young offenders. He worked as a volunteer at the Tuesday sessions from 2001 and is now paid as
our senior youth worker on Monday evenings.
Jackie Hutchinson started with us in May 2001. She had previously done detached youth work in the North-east
and had some experience of church youth clubs. She trained to Level 2, and took over our Tuesday club in
September 2003.
Neil Hutchinson started working for us on Tuesdays in September 2003.
A new youth worker called Sholeh has just started on Thursday evenings. She has worked in Arbury in
Cambridge City.
Regular Volunteer helpers at Milton Youth Centre
Liz Baker is a parish councillor on the Youth Committee who has been working regularly at the youth clubs for
over two years now. She was supporting a young man with special needs who we identified as being particularly
vulnerable. As he gained confidence and became accepted within the group, she has taken on a role within the
club as a whole, bringing in the photo-membership cards, and helping with administration. She has also planned
many activities, edited the Milton 11-18 news-sheet which came out in June, ran a very successful photographic
workshop in the summer and helped with activities throughout the summer. (see also below)
Melissa Hall is 18. She was an active member of the youth club before it moved to the portacabin and was
actively involved in discussing the plans with the young people at that time, taking minutes of consultation
sessions at youth club. In the last year she has volunteered to help on Monday evenings and also once a fortnight
on Tuesdays, with the junior club. We had previously had gap year students helping on Monday evenings for
two years. These were both recruited through connections with the Church.
On Tuesdays we have two teams of two volunteers taking alternate weeks.
Sharon Tipple lives in The Sycamores near the youth centre. She was involved in a Youth Fishing Project at
Milton Country Park for Cambridge City Council, and was trained by them. She helps as a volunteer with Andy
Woodman. Andy has done church youth work for a few years.
Ian Cowley, a parish councillor started helping on Tuesdays last term (and see below).
Sue Jones has worked as a volunteer on Thursdays for 4 years. She has lived in Milton for 16 years and does
other voluntary work in Cambridge.
The first reserve for youth work is Lynne Twinn, a parish councillor who performs the invaluable task of being
available when needed, sometimes at only half an hour’ s notice (see also below).
Committee members supporting the work at Milton Youth Centre
Hazel Smith is the Chairman of the Youth Committee and of Milton Youth Centre Management Group. She has
been a parish councillor for 12 years, was a governor at Milton Primary School for 12 years and at Impington
Village College for 4 years. She is also a member of MCC and sits on its Buildings Committee. She ensures the
staffing from day to day, handles the youth club membership forms and finances, and liaises with MCC staff
over maintenance and repairs.
Linda Henderson is a member of MCC. She also sits on the Youth Committee and MYCMG. She works at the
government offices with Sure Start and Children’ s Fund projects. She is very involved in running youth groups
at All Saints’ Church, Milton, and has been active in recruiting youth work helpers for the Youth Centre. She
also stocks up the tuck shop and is the main key-holder.
Liz Baker, parish councillor on the Youth Committee and MYCMG, has been active in providing and
maintaining computers and related equipment for the Youth Centre and helps with the tuck shopping.
Lynne Twinn is a parish councillor on the Youth Committee and MYCMG.
Ian Cowley is a parish councillor on the Youth Committee and MYCMG, who has helped with equipment and
minor maintenance jobs.
Rob Chapman is a parish councillor on the Youth Committee.
7RZKRPLWPD\FRQFHUQ
$OH[:RRG5RDG
&DPEULGJH
&%(*
7HOHSKRQH
-DQXDU\
,DPZULWLQJDV,XQGHUVWDQGWKDWDPHHWLQJLVDERXWWRWDNHSODFHWR
GLVFXVVSURSRVDOVIRUWKHVLWLQJRIDSRVVLEOHEXLOGLQJWKDWPD\EHXVHGWR
SURYLGH<RXWKSURYLVLRQLQWKHYLOODJHDQGZRXOGOLNHWRRIIHUWKHEHQHILW
RIRYHUWKLUW\\HDU·VH[SHULHQFHRIZRUNLQJLQWKLVILHOG,KDYHEHHQ
DVVRFLDWHGZLWK,PSLQJWRQ9&\RXWKZRUNVLQFHDQGEHHQLQYROYHG
ZLWK<RXQJSHRSOHIURP0LOWRQRYHUWKLVSHULRGLQFOXGLQJUXQQLQJWKH
<RXWK&OXELQWKHROGZRRGHQKDOOWKDWZDVVLWXDWHGZKHUHWKHERZOV
SDYLOLRQLVQRZLQWKHGD\VEHIRUHWKH0DUWLQ·VWRRNLWRYHUDFWHGDV
UHOLHIDQGVXSSRUWZRUNHUWRWKH&OXEUXQE\'RXJ%XOOHQLQWKHPDLQ
&RPPXQLW\&HQWUH6HWXSWKHUHIRUPHG-XQLRU&OXEZKLFKKDVQRZJURZQ
LQWRRXUSUHVHQWFOXELQWKHDQQH[DW&ROHV5RDGDWZKLFK,VWLOOZRUN,
ZDVDOVRDPHPEHURIVWDIIDQGRQWKHDGYLVRU\SDQHORI7KH&RQQHFWLRQV
%XV3URMHFWGXULQJLWVYDULRXVYLVLWVWRWKH9LOODJH
2QHRIWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWFULWHULDWRWKH\RXQJSHRSOHLVWRKDYHWKHLU
RZQVSDFHDQGDVHQVHRIRZQHUVKLS7KLVFDPHRXWKHDYLO\GXULQJRXU
FRQVXOWDWLRQZLWKWKHPEHIRUHZHPRYHGRXWRIWKH$QQH[7KH\UHVHQWHG
KDYLQJWRWLSWRHURXQGRWKHUJURXSV·GLVSOD\VHJ3OD\JURXSSDLQWLQJVDQG
QRWEHLQJDEOHWRGHFRUDWHDQGIXUQLVKWKHEXLOGLQJLQWKHLURZQVW\OH
0XFKRIWKHHTXLSPHQWWKDWZHQRZKDYHSRROWDEOHIRRWEDOOWDEOH
FRPSXWHUVHWFQHHGWRUHPDLQLQVLWXDQGFRXOGQRWEHFRQVWDQWO\VWRUHG
DZD\
,DPSHUVRQDOO\RIWKHRSLQLRQWKDWLWZRXOGEHDUHWURJUDGHVWHSWR
UHORFDWHWKH\RXQJSHRSOHEDFNDW&ROHV5RDGDQGWKLVZRXOGXQGHUPLQH
WKHSURJUHVVZHKDYHPDGHRYHUWKHODVW\HDUV$SDUWIURPDIHZHDUO\
REMHFWLRQV,DPQRWDZDUHRIDQ\FXUUHQWFRPSODLQWVIURPORFDOUHVLGHQWV
RURWKHUXVHUVRIWKHVLWHVRPHWKLQJZHZHUHJHWWLQJRQDZHHNO\EDVLV
ZKHQDW&ROHV5RDG:LWKDOOWKHRWKHU\RXWKIDFLOLWLHVDW7KH6\FDPRUHV
6NDWHERDUGSDUN%DVNHWEDOOHWFWKH\RXQJSHRSOHZRXOGWKHEHVSOLWRYHU
ERWKVLWHVDQGEHFRPSOHWHO\XQVXSHUYLVHGDWWKH6\FDPRUHVLIDQ\QHZ
EXLOGLQJLVVLWHGDW&ROHV5RDG
,KDYHDOVREHHQLQYROYHGZLWKVRPHKROLGD\RSHQLQJVDQGPDQ\RIWKHGD\
WLPHVHVVLRQVZKLFK,DPXQDEOHWREHLQYROYHGLQGXHWRZRUN
FRPPLWPHQWVKDYHEHHQPRVWXVHIXODQG,ZRUU\WKDWDPXOWLSXUSRVH
EXLOGLQJDW&ROHV5RDGZRXOGQ·WKDYHWKHGD\WLPHFDSDFLW\WRKRXVHVXFK
SURMHFWV
$QRWKHUPDLQFRQFHUQLVWKHOD\RXWDW&ROHV5RDGZLWKVRPDQ\EXLOGLQJ
FDUSDUNVURDGZDONZD\VLWLVDORJLVWLFDOQLJKWPDUHWRVXSHUYLVH
VXFFHVVIXOO\ZLWKDVPDOOVWDII,QWKHSDVWZHKDYHIRXQGRXUVHOYHVGRLQJ
SROLFLQJUDWKHUWKDQXVHIXODQGSURDFWLYH<RXWK:RUN
$OWKRXJKRXUFXUUHQWEXLOGLQJLVIDUIURPLGHDO,IHHOHYHQWKDWZRXOGEH
SUHIHUDEOHWKDQWREHLQJUHORFDWHGDW&ROHV5RDGLQVKDUHGIDFLOLW\,IDV
LVKLJKO\OLNHO\ZHZLOOQHHGWRHQWHULQWRDSDUWQHUVKLSDQGKDYHVRPH
HOHPHQWRIVKDULQJWKHQWKLVVKRXOGEHORRNHGLQWRYHU\FDUHIXOO\DQGD
SDUWQHUVKLSEHIRUPHGZLWKDJURXSVWKDWKDYHOLNHPLQGHGFOLHQWHOHHJ
DIWHUVFKRROKRPHZRUNRUKROLGD\FOXEVVWXGHQWVXSSRUWJURXSVMRE
VHHNHUVFOXEHWFZKRZRXOGXVHVLPLODUIDFLOLWLHVWRWKH\RXWKJURXSEXW
DWWLPHVRWKHUWKDQWKHHYHQLQJ,IWKLVLVQRWSRVVLEOHWKHQDJURXSZKR
FRXOGKDYHH[FOXVLYHXVHWRDQDGGLWLRQDOURRPDQGMXVWVKDUHFRPPXQDO
IDFLOLWLHVHJDGDUNURRP
,IHDUWKDWLIWKLVEXLOGLQJLVORFDWHGDW&ROHV5RDGWKHQLWZRXOGGHYHORS
LQWRDVLPLODUVLWXDWLRQWKDWKDVDOUHDG\DULVHQDWERWK,PSLQJWRQ9&DQG
1HWKHUKDOO&&ZKHUHD\RXWKEXLOGLQJKDVEHHQSXWDORQJVLGH6SRUWV
+DOOV6ZLPPLQJ3RRORWKHU&RPPXQLW\IDFLOLWLHVDQGKDVEHHQD
FRPSOHWHDQGXWWHUGLVDVWHUWRWKHSRLQWWKDWDW,PSLQJWRQWKH<RXWK
SURYLVLRQKDVQRZKDGWREHPRYHGRIIVLWH
3HWHU*LOOLQJV
6HQLRU<RXWK:RUNHU
2ULJLQDO0HVVDJH
)URPGDYLGKLOO>PDLOWRGDYLGKLOO#QWOZRUOGFRP@
6HQW7XHVGD\-DQXDU\30
7ROL]#HOL]DEHWKEDNHUFRP
6XEMHFW6LWLQJRIQHZ\RXWKEXLOGLQJ
0LOWRQ5RDG
&DPEULGJH&%68
-DQXDU\
7R:KRP,W0D\&RQFHUQ
)RUDQXPEHURI\HDUVQRZ,KDYHKDGWKHSULYLOHJHDQGFKDOOHQJHRIZRUNLQJZLWKVRPHRI
WKH\RXQJSHRSOHLQ0LOWRQ$QXPEHURIWKHVH\RXQJSHRSOHKDYHIDFHGPDQ\GLIILFXOWLHVLQ
WKHVHWUDQVLWLRQDO\HDUV2OGHUPHPEHUVUHWXUQWRWKHFOXERQRFFDVLRQDQGLWLVUHZDUGLQJWR
ILQGRXWKRZWKH\KDYHEHHQGHYHORSLQJWKHLULQWHUHVWVLQHPSOR\PHQWHGXFDWLRQDQGWUDLQLQJ
VLQFHOHDYLQJWKHFOXEDVUHJXODUPHPEHUV
,IHHOWKHVXVWDLQHGDQGIRFXVVHGVXSSRUWRI0LOWRQ3DULVK&RXQFLOKDVEHHQLQYDOXDEOHLQ
KDYLQJSURYLGHGWKHVH\RXQJSHRSOHZLWKDPXFKQHHGHG\RXWKSURYLVLRQ7KLVOHYHORI
FRQWLQXHGFRPPLWPHQWLVHVVHQWLDOWRHIIHFWLYH\RXWKZRUN$VDGXOWVZHQHHGWRRIIHU\RXQJ
SHRSOHRXUFRPPLWPHQWWRWKHPE\DFNQRZOHGJLQJWKHLUVSHFLILFQHHGVDV\RXQJSHRSOH$
QHZ\RXWKEXLOGLQJZLOOFRQILUPWKDWFRPPLWPHQWDQGVXSSRUWIRUDOOIXWXUH\RXQJSHRSOHDV
PHPEHUVRIWKHLUFRPPXQLW\LQ0LOWRQ
7KHGHYHORSPHQWRID\RXWKEXLOGLQJVROHO\IRU\RXWKSURYLVLRQZLOOSUHVHQWDORQJWHUP
FRPPLWPHQWWRLWV\RXQJSHRSOHDQGZLOOSULRULWLVHWKHQHHGVRI\RXQJSHRSOH,QWLPH\RXWK
SURYLVLRQFDQEHGHYHORSHGDQGH[SDQGHGIRUDVHULHVRI\RXWKQHHGVLQWKHDUHDHQVXULQJWKH
SURYLVLRQRI\RXWKFOXEVSURMHFWVDQGDFWLYLWLHV
$VZHNQRZ&DPEULGJHVKLUH&RXQW\&RXQFLOLVSXWWLQJLQSODFHVKRUWWHUPPHDVXUHVIRUD
QHZVWUXFWXUHRI\RXWKZRUNPDQDJHPHQW,WKDVEHHQUHFRJQLVHGWKDW\RXWKZRUNIXQGLQJ
QHHGVWREHGRXEOHGLQRUGHUWRHQVXUHDTXDOLW\VXVWDLQHGVHUYLFH$WWKHPRPHQWWKH
HQYLVDJHGVWUXFWXUHIRUWKHORQJWHUPVHHVDPDQDJHPHQWSDUWQHUVKLSZLWK&RQQH[LRQVWKDW
ZLOORIIHUDFOHDUHUDQGVWURQJHU\RXWKSURYLVLRQ,XQGHUVWDQGWKLVVWUXFWXUHZLOOIRUP
SDUWQHUVKLSVZLWKRWKHURUJDQLVDWLRQVWRVXSSRUWZRUNZLWK\RXQJSHRSOH$WWKLVVWDJH,IHHO
WKHPDQDJHUVRIWKH0LOWRQ\RXWKEXLOGLQJZRXOG
EHDEOHWRILQGZLGHUVXSSRUWIRUGHYHORSLQJPDQ\NLQGVRI\RXWKSURYLVLRQLQFOXGLQJ
WUDLQLQJDQG\RXWKVXSSRUWVHUYLFHV
,GRIHHOKRZHYHUWKDWVLWLQJWKHQHZEXLOGLQJDW&ROHV5RDGPD\OLPLWWKHHIIHFWLYHQHVVRID
IRFXVVHG\RXWKZRUNSURJUDPPHIRUIXWXUH\HDUV$WWKH
VDPHWLPHPDNLQJWKHEXLOGLQJDYDLODEOHWRRWKHUXVHUVPD\ZHDNHQWKH\RXWK
IRFXV&RPSHWLQJQHHGVRIFRPPXQLW\JURXSVLQWKHSDVWKDYHVHHQWKHVORZ
GHFOLQHRI\RXWKSURYLVLRQLQFRPPXQLW\EXLOGLQJVLQIDYRXURIRWKHUJURXSV7KHVRFLDO
FXOWXUHRI\RXQJSHRSOHLVIUHTXHQWO\VHHQDVDWKUHDWWRWKDWRIRWKHUJURXSV$\RXWKEXLOGLQJ
DW&ROHV5RDGLQP\RSLQLRQZRXOGLQKLELWWKHGHYHORSPHQWRIDWKULYLQJGLYHUVH\RXWK
SURJUDPPHERWKZLWKLQDQGRXWVLGHRIWKHEXLOGLQJ
7KH6\FDPRUHV5HFUHDWLRQ*URXQGKDVSURYHGWREHDSULYDWHSODFHDQGVSDFHZKHUH\RXQJ
SHRSOHIHHOFRPIRUWDEOHDQGKDYHDVHQVHRIRZQHUVKLS6RZKLOVW,DPLQJUHDWVXSSRUWRID
QHZ\RXWKEXLOGLQJ,ZRXOGVXSSRUWVLWLQJWKHQHZEXLOGLQJKHUH
6DUDK5RVV
<RXWKZRUNHU0LOWRQ<RXWK&OXE
Minutes of the Meeting of Milton Parish Council held on Monday 1 September 2003 at 7.30pm in the
Community Centre
9 Youth Building
A letter from CF Nunn, Projects Manager MCC expressed concern about the condition of
the youth building. Noted that the “ Kids’ R’ Us” after school club intended to use the
building from 3 September.
Issues to be considered:
How much would it cost to bring the building “ up to scratch” ?
How quickly could another building be erected?
How safe is the building?
The sports clubs had agreed that the sports pavilion could be used in an emergency.
333/03
œ
œ
œ
It was AGREED (12 in favour 1 abstention)
to continue to use the building as planned;
to set up a working group to report back to the October meeting with a
proposal for the youth building
Action: HMS and
to arrange a safety inspection to ensure it was safe to continue to use until a
new building could be erected.
Action: MCC
Minutes of the Youth Building Working Group Meeting of Milton Parish Council held on Monday 29
September 2003 at 7.30pm in the Community Centre
Present:
HM Smith EH Baker RH Chapman JE Coston L Henderson LC Twinn
The clerk SJ Daniels + 3 members of the public (part)
1
Apologies for absence - Ian Cowley
2
Election of Chairman
HMS was elected Chairman
3
Research Review
EHB and LH reported on the results of the research into portable and modular buildings
as a permanent solution.
Top range steel framed portacabins have a guaranteed lifetime of 60 years. Prices start
from £40,000 for 90m2. 126m2 would be at least £70,000 (including delivery and
installation, excluding removal of current portacabin).
Refurbished portacabins buildings (wooden frames) would cost £28,250 for
115m2.£28,250 for 126m2. Guaranteed for 10 years, the structure for 5 years.
Second hand portacabins would not provide a permanent solution and would have a
higher cost per year of use. It was agreed to search for a permanent building.
The building must be study enough to cope with current use patterns and resist vandalism.
Brick interior walls would be most suitable. Modular buildings with wooden walls would
be likely to be damaged.
A new building should be 126m2 as there is a need for more space and this is the space
available on the site.
Previous quotations for brick buildings were £70,000-£100,000. RC to investigate with a
builder the potential cost of a metal-framed building with breezeblock walls and a roof as
a cheaper building alternative. Building regulations to be considered.
The meeting ended at 8.30pm.
Minutes of the Meeting of Milton Parish Council held on Monday 6 October 2003 at 7.30pm in the
Community Centre
378/03
(338/03)
6 Youth
MYCMG - The minutes of the MYCMG meeting of 13 August 03 were received.
1. Monday evening sessions were from 6.30 to 8.30.
2. The junior club was proving a success. Numbers were increasing.
3. Membership cards scheme was working well. Thanks to EHB.
Report of Summer Programme
K D’ Arcy had submitted a report. The programme of activities had been successful. The
total cost to MPC would be approximately £190.
IVC had appointed a new manager to replace K D’ Arcy.
IVC would continue to pay for the Monday and Thursday youth workers.
Report by the youth building working group - minutes of the meeting held on 29
September were received.
SCDC would not conduct an assessment of the building. L Henderson and HMS
had carried out a risk assessment.
At this stage the building had yet not been condemned.
It was AGREED
to proceed with the proposal to erect a steel frame permanent
building with breeze blocks on the Sycamores car park for the
youth.
Issues discussed:
Building for the youth is necessary – what is alternative?
Ideal size of building 126 square metres
Funding
Wider use of building by other groups (as per Youth Business Plan)
Concerns about amount of money being spent per youngster
Planning implications – HMS would discuss with the Planning Officer.
AGREED
that IRC should join the youth committee.
Minutes of the Meeting of the Youth Committee held on Wednesday 29th October at 7.30pm in
Milton Community Centre
3
-
Youth Building Replacement
construction, sketch plan
Comments were invited on the sketch plan drawn up by LH. Agreed to
pursue a steel framed construction with breeze blocks or brick with various
-
-
-
4
anti-vandal requirements:
anti-graffiti coating to outer walls, concealed guttering and internal downpipes, roller shutters on outside of windows and doors, no concealed
alcoves or overhangs externally.
Agreed that the best time to build would be the latter half of the Summer
term, if possible.
It would need some planting to soften the view from the recreation ground.
regulations
For a Public Entertainment Licence, 2 toilets were enough for up to 50
attendees, 4 (2 per sex) were required for up to 100. Agreed to build in 2
unisex toilets if possible , one of which would be a disabled one. Toilets
should open off the main room, to avoid misuse, and would probably need
an internal partition and door.
We agreed to approach the Building Regs Dept once a professional plan had
been drawn up.
planning officers views
The planning officer had been encouraging about our building this structure
cheaply and with necessary anti-vandal measures that would not make the
building very attractive.
cost
Initial verbal estimates had been encouraging. We have contact details of 3
steel frame design-and-build companies, and would draw up some initial
plans and ask for plans and quotations to be drawn up.
Funding: HMS would contact SCDC and attempt to meet the 14th Nov
deadline for WREN. The next deadline was mid-February.
Existing portacabin repairs - costings as per details from MCC AGM
Eddie had presented rough estimates of costs to replace a ceiling panel above the fire
door (£275), the wall near the kitchen door (£165), kitchen ceiling (£165) and facias
(£500+). He had not costed strengthening the front wall, which HMS and LH had
thought more necessary, and had cautioned that the costs could be double what he
had expected if wood was found to be rotten underneath.
Noted that although Eddie (employed by MCC) was doing the work, his time and
materials would be recharged to Parish Council according to our agreement. We
therefore need to authorise the work.
Agreed to recommend to Parish Council that Eddie be authorised to fix the ceiling
panel above the fire door, up to a limit of £500, and to report the actual cost. Review
the other jobs in the light of the actual cost of this one.
Minutes of the Meeting of Milton Parish Council held on Monday 5 January 2004 at 7.30pm in the
Community Centre
17/04
9
Youth
Youth Building
The Youth Committee had received two quotations for a new building at The Sycamores
car park. It was AGREED that these two figures should stay confidential as the
committee may ask for a third quotation.
JEC declared an interest.
In order to obtain grant aid Council would need to show use by other groups. At present
the youth building was used by the youth for 3 evenings per week, by another group once
a fortnight on Saturdays and for occasional bookings. This would not be sufficient. In
order to build at The Sycamores on this basis MPC and MCC would have to meet most of
the cost.
The administrator of MCC had suggested that the annexe be extended to incorporate a
youth building.
Considerable discussion about the merits of a both sites ensued. The following points
emerged:

The Sycamores – Reasons for:
The youth club was moved to The Sycamores because of disturbance and perceived
intimidation to other users of the Community Centre.
Other youth facilities ie skate park, basketball court were at The Sycamores.
Against:
Poor disability access across car park.
Difficult for MCC staff to manage.
Security problems.

Coles Road – Reasons for:
As part of a larger project for MCC it could attract funding.
A loan could be secured after October 2005 (when present loan expires).
Easier for staff to manage.
Would be used by other groups eg scouts.
Against:
Disturbance to other users and neighbours eg Barnabas Court.
Possible loss of green space.
Other issues:
Evening staff needed?
CCTV.
Needs of colts football.
AGREED
that the Youth Committee meet (14 January) to look at both ideas and
that a Joint MPC and MCC meeting be held on 28 January to discuss.
No resolution was passed to allocate £20,000 from reserves towards the project.
The Cambridge News of Saturday 3 January suggesting the Council had agreed to spend
£20,000 was incorrect. A correct report would appear in the next issue of Village View.
Minutes of the Youth Committee Meeting held on Friday 14 January 2004 at 7.30pm at Milton
Community Centre
Present:
HM Smith (chair) EH Baker RH Chapman L Henderson PK Oldham LC Twinn
In attendance JE Coston (till 9pm) The clerk
1
Apologies for absence - IR Cowley PC Shulver
23/04
2
Minutes – the minutes of the meeting of 28 November 03 were approved and
signed as a true record.
24/04
3
Youth Building Replacement – Coles Road or The Sycamores?
HMS had contacted Karen Finney of Kids R Us, Neil and Jackie Hutchinson (both
youth workers and assistants at Kids R Us) and PC Shulver for their views. Noted
that the youth club had more years 7 and 8 attending. Improved guidelines for
behaviour at the club were in place and years 7 and 8 were respecting these rules.
Kids R Us did not wish to move to a building at The Sycamores.
PC Shulver hoped to attend the meeting on 28 January to give his views.
Committee stressed that the youth needed a youth building not a building that could
be used by the youth. EHB had produced a document “ What is a youth building?” –
to be circulated to meeting on 28 January. The building must have facilities that
support the youth work and youngsters’ personal and social development.
The advantages and disadvantages of both sites:
The Sycamores
Advantages:
No disturbance and perceived intimidation to other users of the Community Centre. (Although it
was noted that minor vandalism still occurred at the Community Centre).
Other youth facilities ie skate park, basketball court were at The Sycamores.
Purpose built youth building with all the facilities to support youth work.
Disadvantages:
Poor disability access across car park.
Difficult for MCC staff to manage.
Security problems.
Difficulties of attracting other partners and therefore funding.
Coles Road
Advantages:
As part of a larger project for MCC it could attract funding.
A loan could be secured after October 2005 (when present loan expires).
Easier for staff to manage.
More facilities for other groups eg scouts, kids R Us (though other uses must not conflict with
evening (youth) use).
Teenagers should be valued as part of the community. Being based at Coles Road would enable
them to interact with other members of the community.
Disadvantages:
Disturbance to other users and neighbours eg Barnabas Court.
Possible loss of green space.
Would parents of younger children be comfortable with older youths “ hanging around” ?
Conclusion:
No formal vote was taken but the majority of the Committee were strongly in favour
of a youth building at The Sycamores if partners and funding could be found. The
difficulties of funding this project were recognised and Committee would therefore be
willing to consider a building at Coles Road.
Action: EHB to produce a paper for the meeting on 28 January.
The meeting ended at 9.40pm
Minutes of the Joint Meeting between Milton Parish Council and Milton Community Centre and
Recreation Grounds Management Committee held on Wednesday 28 January 2004 at 7.30pm in the
Community Centre
3 Future Development of Facilities to include Youth Provision
The chairman explained that work was needed at the community centre to improve /
renovate the buildings. In addition a replacement youth building was needed.
Discussion revolved around the type of building and where it should be sited - Coles
Road or The Sycamores Recreation Ground.
Letters of support from two youth workers and a document produce by EHB on behalf of
the Youth Committee (see min 24/04 Youth Committee 14 Jan) had been circulated. As a
result the advantages and disadvantages of The Sycamores site were discussed in some
depth. Comments and questions raised:
A café style building was needed.
Funding: cost of steel framed, brick/block, building up to £100,000 could be met by:
SCDC grant of 25%
WREN grant of up to £30,000 (this would be dependent on at least 3 groups
using the building)
Grants from smaller charities of say £10,000.
Would it cost less to build here than extend facilities at Coles Road? Very
likely.
Would Tesco and Connexions help fund the building? Possibly but unlikely.
The building at The Sycamores would be sited into the bund and hedge and would
therefore not take up any more car parking spaces.
There was a perception that anti-social behaviour had increased at The Sycamores since
the youth club was moved there.
Complaints from residents of The Sycamores had decreased during the previous 12 18 months.
If a youth building were sited there then a different management structure could be put
into place as there were difficulties managing the building from the MCC office.
As it was the aim of the Youth Committee to integrate youngsters would Coles Road be a
better option or do they need the space afforded by The Sycamores where they could
learn to interact with each other? Positive interaction between adults and the young
people was unlikely to happen on an ad hoc basis. Young people needed space where
they would be relatively unobserved.
There were concerns that The Sycamores was isolated and that some parents would not
let their children attend the youth club there.
The youth club was now attracting a broader cross section of the community and was
proving to be successful – 30+ years 7/8 attending on Tuesday evenings (70 being
registered).
The Youth Committee was planning wider consultation with the youth of Milton.
It was pointed out that approximately 300 youngsters attended scouts, colts football etc.
Could the numbers attending the youth club justify an outlay of £100,000? It was noted,
however, that the village would be asked to pay part of the costs (see funding above) not
all.
Another room at the Community Centre site would benefit the pre-school. Extensions at
Coles Road could attract grant aid.
The chairman asked three questions (19 members were eligible to vote):
Should we have a youth building?
18 voted yes.
Should the youth building be sited at Coles Road?
6 voted yes.
Should the youth building be sited at The Sycamores? 10 voted yes.
The meeting ended at 8.40pm.
Minutes of the Meeting of Milton Parish Council held on Monday 2 February 2004 at 7.30pm in the
Community Centre
70/04
(17/04)
6 Youth
The minutes of the MYCMG meeting of 22 December 2003, the Youth Committee
meeting 14 January and the Joint Meeting with MCC 28 January were received.
Youth Building - the way forward
The joint meeting gave overwhelming support for a youth building.
It was AGREED (10 votes in favour, 3 against and 2 abstentions).
to authorise the youth committee to pursue the erection of a youth
building at The Sycamores recreation ground, to be managed by MPC.
Programme of use – term time
Day
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
9am 10.30
10.30 1pm
Available for Pupil and Student Support
classes or club sessions
Young
Carers *
1-3
3pm 6.30
6.30 9.30
Out of school club for 9-14 year-olds
IVC
youth
club
PC youth
club
New
activity
sessions
IVC
youth
club
New PC
youth
club
Private
hire
Private
hire
later 11.30
Programme of use – school holidays
Day
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
8am 10.30
Out of school club for 9-14 year-olds
Sat
Sun
Young
Carers *
10.30 1pm
1pm 6.00
6.30 9.30
later 11.30
Holiday
youth
club
Holiday
youth
club
Private
hire
Private
hire
* fortnightly
Any unused time will be available for hire. Preference will be given to groups within the village and catering for
11 to 25 year olds.
Gantt chart showing project progress
Month
Business plan
Draw up more
detailed spec
Tender pack
sent out
Return of
tenders
Planning
permission
Funding
PC promise
funds
Ask SCDC,
WREN
MCC meeting
asked for
support
Requests to
charities
March
April
May
June
July
August
September