Consultation on the future use of youth centres in Bromley

The consultation period has now ended, you can view the report on consultation outcomes, this was presented to the Children and Young People Policy Development and Scrutiny Commmittee on 6 September 2011.

You can see all consultation reports and notes from the public meetings.

We are keen to maintain the momentum of interest in the future of the Duke Youth Centre that the consultation has sparked. A meeting to discuss this was held on 16 November 2011, you can view or download the Energising the Duke meeting notes.

We asked you your views on 

• the proposal to reduce the number of council owned youth centres directly operated by the local authority
• how those youth centres not operated by the local authority might be put to use by the local community and activity providers to use the building for youth and community purposes.

What are the changes being suggested and why

The changes that are being suggested are a reduction in the number of Youth Centres directly operated by the Local Authority (LA) and a proposal to encourage the local community and activity providers to use those centres that the LA ceases to directly operate to provide leisure time opportunities for young people.

The main driver for change is our requirement to make considerable financial savings over the next 3-4 years.  Some of these savings have been reductions in the staffing establishment of the service.  As a result of this, there are less staff to operate the number of youth centres that the LA presently operates.  In addition to this, and of equivalent importance, is the fact that use of the LA's youth centres is low when compared to the population of young people and is in decline.  The present use of our youth centres is not providing value for money and we have taken the view that they could be used in a more effective both by the LA and also potentially by the local community and other providers of services for young people, particularly leisure time opportunities.

Why has there been a decline in the number of young people attending youth centres?

We conducted some survey work in 2009 and 2010 which demonstrated that smaller numbers of young people are using Youth Centres or Clubs but increasing numbers are taking part in a range of different sports, arts, cultural and other activities in their spare time. Youth centres do not appear to have the attraction for young people that they may have held when LA centres were first introduced after World War 2. Times have changed and what young people expect to do during their leisure time has also changed considerably, particularly in the past 10-15 years.

What will be the impact of the changes?

The impact of the changes will be two-fold.  First, in those centres where the LA is continuing to directly operate, young people will see a broadening of the activity offer and better targeting of the kind of specialist support and advice that some young people need.  In those centres where the LA does not propose to directly operate, the local community will have a bigger say in what goes on inside the building than presently.  We would hope that this will take the form of a more diverse offer to young people in the local community and one that is tailored to the specific needs of the local community.  We expect to see variety and quality in that provision and also a relevance to the very particular needs of the communities in which our Centres are situated.

When would any changes be made?

We expect to see change in a very short timescale after the Children and Young People Portfolio Holder has considered the findings from the consultation at the end of July 2011. Some changes are already underway in the four centres which have been identified for the LA to continue direct provision.

How have the four 'designated areas' in the borough been arrived at?

The four designated areas in the borough have been identified following consideration of the information about those factors that influence the use of youth centres and services for young people.  These include youth population density and distribution, school exclusion rates, youth unemployment and incidences of anti-social behaviour by young people.  Put simply, we have decided to operate our centres in those areas where a concentration of experienced staff is required most. 

Which centres would remain in operation?

Presently, through the Bromley Youth Support Service, the LA operates 10 fixed youth centres and 1 mobile facility. In future, it is proposed that the LA will continue to operate 6 fixed Centres and 1 mobile facility as follows: 

• Castlecombe (Mottingham)
• The Link ( St Paul 's Cray)
• The Spitfire (Biggin Hill)
• Streetwise (Penge & Anerley)
• Hawes Down Joint Disability Centre (West Wickham)
• Darrick Wood (Orpington)
• Mobile Team (based at the Phoenix in West Wickham)

 

Will there be any changes to the way that the above centres are run?

As stated previously, we expect to see centres operating a much broader offer than they do presently and providing a service to young people across a greater part of the day than they do presently.  We are in the early stages of developing the programmes for the centres but we would expect provision to be available for a full seven hours a day within our centres.  Presently, our centres operate between 3 and 5 sessions (3 hours) a week.  We are looking to increase by a significant factor the delivery from our centres.

Which centres will cease to operate youth services provided by the LA?

It is proposed that the following Centres would cease to operate youth services provided by the LA:

• Duke ( St Mary Cray )
• M2 (Bromley Common)

The LA will seek to encourage the local community and activity providers to use the centres, on a voluntary or self‑funded basis, to provide leisure‑time opportunities for young people.

What does 'self-funded' mean in the above context?

What we mean by self-funded is that we expect the local community and other providers to organise the funding necessary to deliver the programme of services and activities within the building the LA will provide.  We are in the early stages of developing the Service Level Agreements that will operate between the community, providers and the LA about the use of buildings, but we would expect it to resemble the kind of Service Level Agreements that operate between ourselves and the providers of, for example, day care and nursery provision that operate within some of our centres presently.

Which centres have been designated for closure?

• The Connexions Centre (Bromley Town Centre)
• The Hub (St Mary Cray)

What will happen to the above buildings after closure?

These buildings are leased to use presently and it is for the landlord of the buildings to determine the use of the buildings after closure.  Once the lease has expired, the LA has no further interest in the use of the buildings.

How will young people be consulted?

Young people will be consulted through meetings held at Youth Centres and meetings of the Bromley Youth Council, young people's views are being collected via survey forms also available from youth service staff

How will local communities be consulted?

We are holding a series of public meetings.

• 8 June at Streetwise , 1-3 Anerley Station Road, Penge, SE20 8PY
• 10 June at the Castlecombe Youth Centre, Castlecombe Road, Mottingham SE9 4AT
• 14 June at the Duke Youth Centre, Park Road, St Mary Cray, BR5 4AS
• 21 June at the Spitfire Youth Centre, Church Road, Biggin Hill, TN16 3LB

All meetings start at 7.00pm for one hour, all welcome.

What has been the impact of the council's budget savings on the youth service?

The impact of budget savings on the youth service has been to reduce the level of staffing that is available to the youth service to operate at the level at which it has previously operated.  However, while this has been a negative driver in some respects, it has also prompted us to review the use of our buildings and the kinds of services that we provide to young people and also the way in which those services are delivered.