Have your say on the future of youth club

The controversial closure of the Brockeridge Youth Club by Frampton Cotterell Parish Council has hit the front page of the Gazette.

The youth club has a successful track record of providing for young people who have rejected the alternative organisations in the village, many of whom need the support, guidance and understanding of a professional youth worker. The Parish Council provided the club in the first place to tackle the anti-social behaviour associated with young people hanging around with nowhere to go.

Figures provided by the Parish Clerk show the average weekly attendance over the last 14 months is 25.  At the meeting, volunteer youth worker Chris Harris, manager of the Nisa Martin Harris, Jen Dunford from Village Action and local beat manager PC Finbar Simmons all spoke in support of the youth club.

Cllr Pat Hockey said, “We should always evaluate what we do but not close down what we have got and what is working well until we have consulted on it and found, without a shadow of a doubt, what is proposed is better than what we have.” She successfully proposed an amendment to the closure vote requiring a consultation to take place over the next few weeks. If you believe the Brockeridge Centre should re-open in September with the available money, it’s vital you write in to the Clerk to Frampton Cotterell Parish Council to have your say. Let Pat and Dave Hockey know your views too.

Cllr Dave Hockey, who has previously worked at the youth club and wanted to see it saved, said: “I am disgusted by the way this has been handled and I will make sure the whole village knows it. The club has helped many young people facing troubling circumstances.”