A HOST of new schemes are being planned for young people in Clevedon.

A new network has been set up following North Somerset Council’s decision to pull all funding for general youth work from the start of this month.

Made up of staff and volunteers at organisations including the YMCA, Clevedon School, the Curzon cinema, police, Salvation Army, Baptist and Methodist churches, Clevedon Rugby Club, MARLENS, The Barn youth centre and the town council, the network hopes to put on new schemes from September.

These will include an ‘In It To Grow It’ horticultural project, an inclusion programme aimed at youngsters who feel excluded or isolated and detached work to be carried out at spots popular with youngsters such as the Salthouse Fields.

The Curzon also wants to attract more youngsters to join The Reelers, which sees youngsters choose films to be shown at the Old Church Road cinema, as well as its youth panel, which allows youths to be involved in the development of the facility.

It also plans to create more chances for young people to make films.

Education and learning coordinator at the Curzon, Cathy Poole, said: “Linking up with other youth organisations is the strategic importance of it. Between us we can provide a really good range of activities.”

The Clevedon Network will make an application to North Somerset Council for funding to get some new schemes off the ground in September and, in the meantime, young people will be surveyed on what else they want to see in the town.

After the school Easter break, The Barn will continue to hold youth sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, to be run by Youth Outreach, an organisation made up of former North Somerset Council youth workers. These will cost �14,000 per year to put on and fundraising will be carried out to enable them to continue.

Secretary of the Clevedon youth and community centre management committee at The Barn, John Neal, said: “We hope to raise additional funding in the future to continue the open access sessions that are so needed and requested and are attended by a range of children and young people in Clevedon.”