Nailsea Youth House

WORTHWHILE and valued youth activities will continue in Nailsea until at least March thanks to some generous funding from the town council.

It has agreed to pay £21,000 to cover the staffing costs associated with sessions being put on by Avon Youth Association at Youth House in High Street as well as on the town’s streets.

The association has been running a youth work programme in Nailsea since April, backed by the town council, after North Somerset Council completely cut its budget for general youth work across the district at the start of this financial year.

At the latest meeting of Nailsea Town Council, Avon Youth Association project director Tim Blasdale gave an overview of the work carried out so far.

The association has been running evening sessions at Youth House on Mondays, Wednesday and Thursdays, as well as afternoon sessions on Mondays, with about 20 young people attending each.

Activities have included arts and craft, cooking and pool. However, sessions have also covered important issues including sexual health, staying safe on the internet, bullying, crime, drug and alcohol awareness and health and fitness.

Since the High Street building closed for refurbishment in June, youth workers have been running three sessions of street-based work and this will continue until the revamp is complete in September.

As a result of the successes achieved in the past three months, the town council agreed to continue funding the youth provision for Nailsea until March.

Tim said: “It is fantastic the town council have made this commitment to young people in Nailsea.

“Avon Youth Association are pleased to be able to provide a service to young people supported by the town council.

“What they have done is really good because they have made the commitment to fund the staffing costs so the youth work delivery is secure.

“We will then work with the town council to find external sources of funding to support the programme.”

Over the coming months, youth workers will look to provide a youth bus where young people can take part in activities in a safe environment and hope to establish a Nailsea Youth Partnership management committee.

When sessions return to Youth House, they may also create separate groups for different age ranges.