Bring Back Bilton Youth Club!

Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council

Harrogate & District Green Party

Please sign our petition to ask Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council to bring back Bilton Youth Club.

10 years ago Bilton had a thriving and popular youth club that had been enjoyed by generations of local people for more than 50 years.

In 2012 it ran three nights a week from 7.00 pm 'til 9.30 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and provided local teenagers with somewhere to go, something to do and somewhere to socialise.

From football to table tennis, camping trips to fishing trips, mountain bike trails to canoe expeditions, model club to chess club, and leadership training, it offered a range of activities and opportunities that are no longer on offer to the present generation of teenagers.

In 2012 North Yorkshire County Council, led by the Conservatives, ordered a restructure that removed dedicated youth workers from their posts and led to the demise of Bilton Youth Club as we all remember it.

As a consequence, the building that was Bilton Youth Club is now the Bilton Health and Well-Being Hub and what was once a three nights-a-week youth club for 11-18 year olds is now a once-a-week 'universal drop-in' for 11-14 year olds from 5pm 'til 7pm on Mondays ...at tea time.

A whole generation of young people has now been denied the fantastic service that this facility provided for their parents and grandparents. It was an important and valued community resource from the 1960s until 2012.

Why is it no longer available for our current generation of young people at a time when it is most needed?

"I went to Bilton Youth Club two night a week, St Roberts one night a week and a Harold Styan Boxing Club one night a week, I was too tired to get into trouble and certainly wasn't bored, if you don't provide activities for young people then they will provide their own, so when the youth services have been cut to pretty much zero we should not be surprised to see young people gathering together on the streets.

We need to provide hope and support for the youth in our communities and we can only do that if we are prepared to spend money for them, these services should be available to all regardless of income"

Arnold Warneken - Candidate Bilton and Nidd Gorge.

Want to know more or get involved? Email Arnold Warneken Bilton and Nidd Green Party Candidate: biltongreens@gmail.com

To: Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council
From: [Your Name]

Tell North Yorkshire County Council to invest in our youth.

Please sign the petition and demand a better youth service from North Yorkshire County Council.