Warwickshire to close all but five youth centres
Neil Puffett
Friday, June 17, 2011
Youth centres across Warwickshire are set to close with five to be kept as centres of excellence under plans approved by the council.
Recommendations following a public consultation into the future of the county’s youth centres were presented to the council’s cabinet yesterday (16 June) with firm details to be drawn up by autumn.
As many as 24 centres could be sold unless youth centre managers or community groups develop business cases to run them independently.
Meanwhile, centres of excellence will be created in five areas of the county where the need for targeted support is seen to be greatest – all of which are close to children’s centres, other services and have wider community links.
The council has said the centres will fulfil two main roles – becoming focal points to build capacity in the voluntary sector and allowing targeted youth support work in the most disadvantaged areas of the county.
They will be funded through the government’s early intervention grant and £1m from elsewhere in the council’s budget.
Heather Timms, the county council’s lead for children, young people and families, said: "The purpose of the consultation was to gain feedback on our proposals for the county’s youth centres and to seek expressions of interest from community groups that could put themselves forward to manage the premises.
"By developing centres of excellence in five areas identified as having the greatest need for early intervention support, and by building on the good practice of our voluntary sector partners in Rugby, we will have a strong foundation on which to take proposals forward."
