Weston Focus

News for Weston-super-Mare Central Ward from local councillors Mike Bell and Robert Payne : serving you on North Somerset Council and Weston-super-Mare Town Council Learn more

Read more on this

Read more on this

Save our youth service protestors rock Town Hall

by mikebell on 15 November, 2011

The council chamber at Weston-super-Mare Town Hall rocked to the chants and protests of young people tonight.

Dozens of young campaigners, supported by their friends and families, lobbied councillors ahead of a council meeting in a bid to stop massive £600,000 cuts to youth services being proposed as part of the North Somerset Council budget for next year.

Liberal Democrat councillors tabled amendments to the council budget proposals that would reverse the cuts to youth services and protect youth clubs and the jobs of youth workers.

Councillor Mike Bell, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on North Somerset Council, said: “The plans to cut the youth service to almost nothing are absolutely the wrong kind of choice to be making. Young people are our future and they need good advice and support to make the most of their potential. We will do everything we can to persuade Conservative council leaders to think again.

“Many people are starting to recognise the cost to the economy in terms of increased antisocial behaviour and social problems as a result of cutting youth services, but what about the even greater cost of these cuts on the lives of North Somerset’s young people? The futures of thousands of young people are at stake and we should not underestimate the importance of the decisions we take.”

Cllr Bell praised the young people who lobbied the council meeting. He added: “It was great to see so many young people turn out at the Town Hall. They passionately put forward their case with placards and speeches and did a fantastic job raising awareness of the issues involved. It is so important that councillors listen to the voice of local people and I hope the force of this protest ruffled a few feathers in our stuffy council chamber.”

   Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>