The South Glos Post

Young people in South Gloucestershire will be making waves on the radio during the half-term break.

They will be broadcasting again as ‘Multi FM’ on 87.7 FM from the Old School youth centre in Kingswood, which is run by South Gloucestershire Council.

The young people will be hosting a mixture of interviews, live music and songs from February 15 until 19, between noon and 10pm everyday.

This is the third year that the young people, aged from 14 to 20-years-old, have run a radio station from the Kingswood-based youth centre. After being granted a licence by Ofcom, they have been hard at work preparing for the week-long broadcast with help and guidance from Phil Gibbons, the station manager at Bristol Community Radio, and Matt Thomas, a sound engineer.

(more…)

Source: South Gloucestershire Council

South Gloucestershire Council is premiering two short films created by young people from the St Nicholas Youth Centre in Yate.

The films examine the lives and aspirations of young people in the area and were made in conjunction with artist Vivi Stamatatos. The films, which premier at 2pm on Saturday 30 January at Yate library with the film makers in attendance, were commissioned by the Council’s Arts Development Service for display at the refurbished library on its new plasma screens.

Road to Somewhere looks at the change in youth culture through generations, contrasting the experiences of young people today with that of their parents who were growing up in the 1980s.

What Catherine Did Next looks at the life choices, hopes and aspirations of young people living in Yate. Both films were entirely scripted and acted by the young people themselves.

Cllr Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “These films provide a unique insight into the lives of young people in Yate, how they feel and how they hope to shape the future. I am delighted that they have been able to explore and record their aspirations by making the films and that the terrific new facilities at Yate Library will bring their work to such a wide audience.”

For further information, please contact Alison Catlin, Arts Development Officer on 01454 865835.

Source: South Gloucestershire Council

Yate’s youth café has received planning approval after 10 years of languishing on the drawing board.

The £1.3m facility will provide an open-plan café area, activity rooms, office and meeting rooms for advice and counselling services, as well as an outdoor café garden.

It will be built on council-owned land adjacent to the town’s leisure centre and has a planned 2011 opening.

Agreed in September 2008 by South Gloucestershire Council’s Conservative administration, the authority’s new youth strategy breathed new life into the project after 10 years of being talked about.

As a result, the council is providing the majority of the project’s capital investment, which includes the land.

Conservative Cabinet member for Children and Young people, Cllr Sheila Cook welcomed the planning approval, saying:

“The Council’s youth strategy breathed new life into the stalled youth café project and has very much been the driving force behind it ever since.

We are contributing the majority of the capital resources to deliver this much-needed facility, which I think shows a commitment which hasn’t really existed at any point over the last 10 years.

Planning approval for the youth café is a major milestone and shows Yate youngsters that the curtain is well and truly coming down on a decade of dithering, which local politicians previously involved in this ongoing saga have yet to properly justify to frustrated local youngsters.”

Source: Conservative Group on South Gloucestershire Council

Five young men from Patchway Youth Centre got their hands dirty for a very good cause by refurbishing a minibus which was then donated for use by people from across South Gloucestershire.

Hayden Waldron, Tom Everard, Joe Desambrois, Daniel Head and Ryan Hooper attended the Wheels Project over the last year with all of them gaining two OCR certificates in Motor Maintenance.

Between them they have completely refurbished a minibus donated by Avon and Somerset Police, even adding new windows. In a ceremony held at the youth centre last month, the bus was donated to Four Towns Community Transport for use by young people and the wider community in South Gloucestershire.

Funding by The Big Stash made participation in the Wheels Project possible for the five young men. The project was designed to raise self-esteem, develop new skills and improve employment prospects for the participants.

Councillor Sheila Cook, executive member for children and young people, said: “We are proud to celebrate the achievements of these young men. The Wheels Project has helped them to learn new skills and has enhanced their employment prospects. We congratulate them and wish them well for the future.”

One of the young men, Haydon Waldron, said: “I really enjoyed the project and I’m glad that our hard work has resulted in a benefit to our local community. The project has helped point me in the right direction job-wise, but not as a mechanic – I’m currently on a plumbing apprenticeship. Many thanks to Patchway Youth Centre and South Gloucestershire Council for giving me this great opportunity.”

Pictured (above) from left are Councillor Shirley Holloway, chair of both South Gloucestershire Council and Four Towns Community Transport, Russ Summers of Patchway Youth Club, Councillor Sheila Cook, executive member for children and young people, Joe Desambrois and Hayden Waldron who both worked on the minibus project, David Glossop, general manager of the Wheels Project.

Source: South Gloucestershire Council