Myplace centres face funding crisis

The government-commissioned evaluation of the scheme says many of the 70 Myplace centres will struggle to maintain the initiative’s ideal of a high-quality youth service due to worsening public sector cuts and tougher economic conditions.
 
The report, which involved researchers from the University of Durham and YMCA George Williams College, states: "In the absence of adequate or secure revenue funding, the full potential of the Myplace programme will not be realised.

"The gap between the aspirations embodied in new state-of-the art centres with their enthusiastic and committed workers and volunteers, and the realities of the financial climate, is a serious one."

The report urges senior staff at the centres to ensure they are maximising revenue from the buildings. It also states that centre managers need to get better at involving other voluntary and community groups and local businesses in the running and funding of centres.

Jeremy Glover, chief executive of Onside North West, which runs four Myplace centres, agreed that managers need to be looking at private-sector funding to guarantee their long-term future.

However, he added that this didn’t mean there was no role for councils. "In my experience councils are willing to use their money to invest in good-quality local youth facilities.

"In our Blackburn centre, for example, we have secured funding for the next three years, with 40 per cent coming from the council and 60 per cent through local businesses."

Around 14 local businesses, such as Blackburn-based brewer Thwaites, have provided £25,000 each to become a patron of the Blackburn centre, he added.

The report backs such innovative funding models and urges all Myplace centres to have a stronger commercial focus.
 
Those involved in running centres also need to become more strategic and develop "regular reassessment of short- and long-term ambition with regard to the economic and policy climate."

The report looked at 26 projects and included analysis of eight case study projects.

It highlights a number of strategies successful centres have adopted to ensure they survive.

These included centres ensuring they offer unusual activities, such as a youth theatre, or specific services needed by the local community, such as housing support. These help attract young people in the long term and boost revenue.

Those that are located near a school also have a greater chance of surviving through joint projects with schools and organising activities linked with the curriculum.

Another key to success, the report suggests, is to link the centre with an aspect of the local economy.

The Eye centre in Minehead’s links with local tourism is among examples highlighted. Its indoor skatepark and BMX park are open to local young people as well as tourists.

The report recommends all Myplace centres review how many of these strategies are already in place and urges centres to share successful funding and management strategies to learn from each other.