Saved club ‘vital’ for Bridgnorth youth
A youth club saved after the public donated £12,000 in three days could be vital in helping young people overcome the effects of the pandemic, it has been claimed.
At its latest meeting Bridgnorth Town Council agreed to accept the £12,000 donation, which will be used to keep the town’s Innage Lane Youth Club running for the next year.
When combined with £7,000 from the town council it will pay for the club to provide services over the next 12 months, after Shropshire Council withdrew its funding.
Councillors commended the community effort in raising the money, along with Councillor Julia Buckley who had launched the initiative.
Councillor Buckley told the meeting: “We are very lucky to live in such a community where people are prepared to publicly show their support and use their own money to support such a fantastic youth club.”
Councillor David Cooper said that the services could be vital in light of the potential effect of the Covid crisis.
He said: “We are now in a position where there are going to be long-lasting impacts of the pandemic.”
He added: “It is a particular concern with the impact it will have on young people so I am glad we can keep this facility because we do not know what on earth the impact will be and what the demand will be so we need to keep the facility, and I am glad Councillor Buckley has been able to get such a degree of support.”
However, there were concerns raised by Councillor Karen Sawbridge that the fundraising campaign had “inadvertently misled” the public over how many children were using the facility.
Councillor Sawbridge said she believed people may have been under the impression that more children were using the club that actually are.
Councillor Sawbridge, who is also chairman of Bridgnorth Rugby Club, told the meeting she understood about 27 children used the facility. She compared that to the 280 children who are part of Bridgnorth Rugby Club, which she said receives no council funding.
But Councillor Buckley dismissed the claims over the usage level at the youth club saying that the summer sessions had attracted up to 50 children.
She also rejected the comparison with the rugby club, saying the comment was comparing “apples and pears”, and added: “What we must not do is compare a competitive sports club with a social club.”
