The Bradley Stoke Journal

South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC’s) ruling Cabinet has voted to put an extra £58k into youth provision in Bradley Stoke following lobbying by local Councillors, who claimed that the town was getting a poor deal compared to others in the district.

The decision, which must be ratified by Full Council on 23rd February, came after extra money became available because of the lower than expected cost of the Council’s recently introduced Youth Unltd concessionary transport scheme.

True to form, Monday’s Cabinet meeting was followed within hours by press releases from both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, each claiming credit for the “youth funding boost”.

The Liberal Democrats’ Jon Williams is quoted as saying:

“Bradley Stoke is one of the lowest funded areas of South Gloucestershire for youth work, despite having the highest number of young people, so I am delighted that my persistence has paid off.”

Conservative Rob Jones had a rather different view, commenting:

“Where the LibDems failed, we have succeeded – but it’s the town’s young people who are the real winners from this announcement.”

Continue reading to see the press releases in full »

Michelle Chatham, Youth Development Officer for St John Ambulance in Bristol, writes:

St John Ambulance is looking for motivated and reliable adults to help run their recently opened Cadet division and help support the opening of a new Badger Sett in Stoke Gifford.

The roles suit people who get along well with children and young people, are creative and proactive.

The Cadets is a group for young people aged 10-17 years and the Badgers is a group for children aged 5-10 years.

The Cadets meet on Monday evenings and the group is already popular and well attended. We are hoping to open the Badger Sett as soon as possible and already have somebody lined up as a potential leader.

Our youth groups don’t just do first aid, they can do all sorts of things like photography, sports, health, creative activities, camps and all sorts of things.

If you are interested, please contact Michelle for more info on: 0117 963 0197 or email: michelle.chatham@avon.sja.org.uk

A Bradley Stoke Town Councillor has branded the town’s Mayor “dictatorial” after he failed to invite other Councillors to a meeting with a senior official at South Gloucestershire Council (SGC).

Mayor Ben Walker met alone with SGC’s Director of Children and Young People to find out why Bradley Stoke receives significantly less from SGC than other towns in the district for the provision of youth services.

[Ed: We have since been told that the Mayor met with SGC officers rather than the Director; see comment below.]

Liberal Democrat Cllr Jon Williams says he found out about the meeting by chance and feels he should have been invited to attend, as he claims it was he who first questioned why Bradley Stoke gets such a “raw deal” from SGC.

“I think it’s ridiculous that our Mayor is taking a dictatorial approach so early in his year of office. By excluding other elected councillors from an important meeting with the Director of Children and Young People to discuss the level of funding for youth work in the town without a good reason, he obviously thinks he’s special.”

“As a result of his undemocratic attitude I have had to ask for an identical meeting with the Director immediately after his. This is a waste of the Director’s time but I have no option if I want to understand the funding issues.”

According to Cllr Williams, figures supplied by SGC show that they spend £93k in Filton, £84k in Patchway and £73k in Stoke Gifford – compared to just £33k in Bradley Stoke (which has the largest youth population in the area).

Read on: Council to meet behind closed doors to discuss youth work funding »

Conservative Councillors have welcomed the signing of an agreement between Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC), South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) and Southern Brooks Community Partnership (SBCP) that secures annual funding of £93,000 for youth work in Bradley Stoke.

Councillors claim that the new agreement will produce “better value for the money that both Councils put into youth services in the town”.

Under the ‘Commissioned Service Agreement’, £93,000 of  annual funding – made up of £60,000 from BSTC and £33,000 from SGC – will be paid to Southern Brooks Community Partnership to provide:

• A full-time qualified youth worker managing and co-ordinating the development and delivery of youth provision in Bradley Stoke, working closely with Bradley Stoke Youth Committee and South Gloucestershire Youth Service
• Four nights of centre-based youth sessions per week for the 13 – 19 age group
• Two centre-based activity sessions per week for the 10 – 13 aged group
• Two ‘detached’ youth sessions per week – where youth workers engage with young people ‘on the streets’

The agreement requires centre-based sessions to be provided for a minimum of 44 weeks per year.

Young people are said to have sat on the panel that chose the provider and quarterly reports will be provided to ensure that requirements are being met.

(more…)

The relocation of Bradley Stoke’s youth clubs to the Brook Way Activity Centre has claimed another victim with the news that the Black and Blues Netball Club has “reluctantly” decided to move to a different venue.

The netballers first came into confrontation with youth workers just days after the youth club moved in on 5th October. Youth leaders “mindful of [child protection] legislation” are said to have been concerned over the large number of netballers using the building at the same time as “the youth”.

The incident is said to have led to acrimonious correspondence between youth workers and the netball club over the use of the centre’s toilets. Bradley Stoke Town Council later ruled that the netballers should be allowed to use the disabled toilets, leaving the others for the sole use of the youth club.

But the compromise appears to have failed to resolve the situation, with the netballers reportedly being unhappy about having to be “escorted to the loo”.

Town Clerk David Chandler told this month’s meeting of the Finance Committee that representatives of the Black and Blues had turned up at the [council's] office “in a tearful state”, saying they felt they couldn’t continue to use the venue.

It is understood that the club will now meet at Bradley Stoke Community School.

Other hirers to have left Brook Way include the popular Weight Watchers group, which now meets at the nearby Wheatfield Primary School.

Councillor Julian Barge expressed anger that “an excellent paying hirer had been put off”. He added that the youth club contributes nothing to the council’s coffers and bemoaned the damage caused to the premises since the club moved in.

He urged fellow councillors to be “mindful in future that we need people who are prepared to pay for facilities” and concluded by saying that “the presence of the youth club is proving a very big headache”.

The relocation of youth clubs to Brook Way was the brainchild of Cllr Brian Hopkinson, who did not attend the latest meeting.

Related links:

• Youth Clubs in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
• Netball in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
• Slimming Clubs in Bradley Stoke (THe Journal)

The recent relocation of all Bradley Stoke youth clubs to the Brook Way Activity Centre has led to a “confrontation” between youth workers and members of a local netball club (believed to be The Black and Blues), according to Bradley Stoke Town Council.

The news is revealed in the recently published ‘draft’ minutes of a meeting of the Council’s Finance and Leisure Committee, held on Wednesday 21st October.

The committee chose to discuss an agenda item entitled ‘Community Centre Usage’ in closed session, meaning that the press and public were excluded from proceedings.

The minutes reveal that the confrontation occurred on 7th October, the first Wednesday after the youth club relocation on Monday 5th October.

The incident appears to have centred around  netballers entering the centre to shelter from bad weather and organise sign ups for the new season.

Youth workers “mindful of [child protection] legislation” are said to have expressed concern over the large number of netballers in the building alongside “the youth” (as the Town Clerk affectionately refers to the young people of our town).

Council members heard that the youth club may have been understaffed on the night in question due to the earlier resignation of a youth leader and absence of other youth workers due to holidays.

Concern was expressed over the general lack of youth supervision and a report that “boys and girls had been seen emerging from the same toilets”.

The incident is said to have led to acrimonious correspondence between youth workers and the netball club over the use of the centre’s toilets.

Councillors agreed that youth workers (or any other hirers) have no right to demand terms and conditions of other hirers of the centre and that in future the netballers should use the disabled toilets, leaving the other toilets for the sole use of “the youth”.

Related links:

• Bradley Stoke Youth Clubs (The Journal)
• Netball in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)