Congleton Youth Forum meeting minutes 18.03.15

The latest meeting of Congleton Youth Forum took place on 18th March hosted at Eaton Bank Academy. Download the full minutes HERE.

The first item on the agenda was the Youth Info point website www.youthinfo.co.uk, all agreed to add more content to make the site really live.

Youth Forum Projects. 

GW advised the forum that he had put in a number of funding support requests to the Partnership’s Projects and Finance Committee and was awaiting a decision on some of them.

P&F agreed to support the Youth Celebration Day by awarding £1000 to the event so that planning / organising could get underway.

 

The other 5 projects have gone out to The Executive for their decision, MS will advise GW once the result is known.

The 5 projects were:-

Basketball Hoops.

Bridle Path Maps.

Skateboard Park.

Fashion Show.

Congleton Youth In Bloom.

 

GW will be writing out to forum members to find out which of these they will be able to get involved in.

Virtually all of the activities arose from findings in the recent Youth Council Survey, so support what young people suggested themselves.

Bromley Farm Community Development Trust entered the North West in Bloom Neighbourhood competition in 2014.

The Bromley Farm Youth Club are very grateful for the support of Congleton Partnership. Bromley Farm Community Development Trust entered the North West in Bloom Neighbourhood competition for 2014 funded by the Congleton Partnership. The funding was an initiative of Congleton Youth Forum to actively encourage young people to get involved in the town’s In Bloom efforts. Below is a copy of the press release, for pictures of the children working hard visit here.

 

Bromley Farm Community Development Trust has entered the North West in Bloom Neighbourhood competition for 2014.Bromley Farm Community Development Trust

The Bromley Farm In Bloom efforts have been supported by young people from the Bromley Farm neighbourhood as part of the activities of the Bromley Farm youth clubs.

Around 30 young people from our youth clubs participated in gardening themed youth club sessions and have planted and helped to create a colourful area at Bromley Farm Community Centre on Edinburgh Road.

The plan was to transform a drab area of Bromley Farm Community Centre and Recreational Park into a colourful and welcoming area by creating a range of different planting areas using different types of containers and plants.

Young people have learnt new skills and demonstrated that young people are taking the lead to make a positive contribution.

Funding of £175 was secured from Congleton Youth Forum, a sub group of Congleton Partnership and was supported by Congleton Town Council and Cheshire East Council. The funding was an initiative of Congleton Youth Forum to actively encourage young people to get involved in the town’s In Bloom efforts. The funding has enabled young people from Bromley Farm to highlight the community and young people involvement in the town’s entry into the large town section of the North West in Bloom and Britain in Bloom competitions. Young people have got directly involved in the design, planting and maintenance of the floral displays. The funding has enabled the purchase of materials to plant up a range of hanging baskets, tubs and wire racks that have been positioned on and around the community centre building and to purchase items that has helped with the on-going maintenance including watering cans and some hand tools.

 

Glen Williams, Chairman of Bromley Farm Community Development Trust said “The North West in Bloom judges were really impressed with the result of the Bromley Farm Youth Club members efforts with the complete transformation of a drab area of the Bromley Farm Community Centre. Young people were at the centre of this project and around 30 young people from the neighbourhood have created a colourful display and have learnt a number of new skills. They have also had a lot of fun being part of this project. We have had many compliments about the floral display and I am really proud telling people that it is young people from Bromley Farm who have created the area. I am very grateful for the support of Congleton Youth Forum and Congleton Partnership which has enabled young people to be involved and make a positive difference to their neighbourhood.”

Bromley Farm Community Development Trust is the resident group of the Bromley Farm neighbourhood and has been making a positive difference for over 10 years providing events, activities and improving the environment. Our aim is to improve the well-being of all residents who live in the neighbourhood.

Young Persons report 2014 about living in Congleton

A detailed survey of young people in Congleton has been completed commissioned by the Youth Council. This is an introduction from Joe Hearson head of the youth council:

The process of creating this report began in the winter of 2013. It continues to be the aim of Congleton Youth Council to explore the issues and services most important to young people and those which were felt lacking. It is hoped that this report, which contains the views and opinions of 760 young people living, schooling or working in Congleton, will comprehensively classify what young people perceive as the positives and negatives of living in Congleton. The report also provides the Youth Council with the opportunity to analyse the possible causes of our findings.

More specifically this report examines the issues which we felt were likely to be important to young people – transport, education, wellbeing and social issues for example. Because of the scope of such a survey, the Youth Council intend to provide youth-focused organisations in the Congleton area with the report, so that we might better achieve our ultimate goal of making Congleton a better place for Young People.

The conclusions drawn from this statistical analysis, then, will mould the projects that Congleton Youth Council embarks upon over the coming years. It is our intention to work with Congleton Town and Cheshire East Borough Council to find solutions to the negatives this report has exposed, whilst ensuring that the facilities within Congleton that received positive reviews continue to be provided. We also aim to work in conjunction with Fiona Bruce MP for Congleton to continue to improve facilities and services for young people in the area and also to highlight the many positives of life in Congleton. By working with partners, both at a local and national level we believe that clear objectives can be identified and achieved as a direct result of this report.

It is with great pride that I am able to occupy the chair of the Youth Council during this period, in which I hope the Youth Council will continue to work hard to achieve success within the town. I am extremely encouraged by the response yielded from this survey and believe it promotes a positive future for Congleton and for our organisation. As a Youth Council we remain ever-grateful for the support we receive from the Town Council, Fiona Bruce MP and other organisations within Congleton with whom we hope to work in close partnership. We thank you for taking the time to read this report, we hope you find its results both engaging and beneficial and as a Youth Council we look forward to working with you in the future.

Joseph Hearson

Chairman of Congleton Youth Council

Download the full results:

Young Persons report 2014