The South Glos Post

South Gloucestershire Council is taking part in a week of initiatives to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour as part of national ‘Not in My Neighbourhood Week’ (November 2 – 6).

The council and its partners – such as Avon and Somerset Police and Avon Fire and Rescue Service – have planned a range of activities to help make communities safer and improve their quality of life.

Activities include a ‘graffiti amnesty’ – street care staff will be removing graffiti from Staple Hill on November 2, Filton on November 3 and Chipping Sodbury on November 5.

Work will be undertaken with young people at Little Stoke youth centre about the impact of anti-social behaviour and a special Not in My Neighbourhood Week poster competition has been organised at the youth centre as part of this.

And information stands are being set up across the district so residents can find out more about the work being done to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

Also as part of Not in My Neighbourhood Week the council is continuing its ongoing campaign to raise awareness about keeping the ring road clear from litter and debris, which costs over £50k each year to clean up. The Council recently successfully prosecuted a company after waste from one of its vehicles illegally spilled onto the Ring Road.

Councillor Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “The Council is working with its partners to organise different activities as part of Not in My Neighbourhood Week to help tackle crime and antisocial behaviour and improve the quality of life for residents in the district.”

Source: South Gloucestershire Council

South Gloucestershire Police arrested five men after a reported burglary at Little Stoke Youth Club on Sunday September 06 2009.

Officers made the arrest the same night as the reported break-in after and recovered a cash till, cash and hi-fi system believed to have been stolen from the centre.

Three men aged 17, a 20-year-old and a 28-year-old have been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Source: Avon and Somerset Police

Little Stoke Youth Centre is holding a launch event to promote its new music suite on Saturday 15 August.

As well as having the opportunity to see the new facilities, visitors can take part in music workshops and there will be performances by young people throughout the day. There will also be refreshments, a bouncy castle, badge making and many more fun activities for all the family to enjoy.

Young people have worked hard to make successful bids for around £96,000 to fund the music studio, which took around seven months to build and is now being used to make and record music.

Called ‘Little Stoke Live,’ the professional studio is for young people aged 13 to 19 years old who are interested in learning more about music and sound engineering.

Cllr Sheila Cook, executive member for children and young people, said: “The facility at Little Stoke Youth Centre is first class and will provide an interesting place for young people to go and develop their talents, from singing to sound engineering.”

“The youth centre is currently open Monday to Thursday evenings thanks to support from Stoke Gifford Parish Council.”

The funding came from a number of sources including the Big Stash, Youth Music funding, Heart FM, the Bank of Ireland, Quartet and The Mall Foundation.

The project has been developed by South Gloucestershire Council’s youth service and during 2009/10 a range of music projects and studio opportunities have been lined up in partnership with Kayto Sound and Youth Music.

Members of girl group Urban Angels, who worked on the funding bid and recently produced a CD in the studio, got the crowd going when they performed at the Patchway Festival in July.

They said: “The new facilities at Little Stoke Youth Centre are amazing. We all enjoy singing and encourage each other to join in – it really builds up the confidence of the younger girls and everyone gets to choose songs for the group to sing – a favourite is No One by Alicia Keys.

The launch event runs from 12pm until 4pm at Little Stoke Youth Centre, Little Stoke Lane.

For further information on the studio and a list of training programmes available visit

www.littlestokelive.com

Source: South Gloucestershire Council