Issue - meetings

Matter for Decision: To consider the feasibility of a City Centre Youth Venue.

Decision of Executive Councillor for Community Development and Health:

The Executive Councillor for Community Development and Health resolved;

i.        To agree not to pursue the proposal to locate a city centre youth venue at the YMCA.

ii.       To ask the informal member panel to continue to meet to explore ideas for youth projects.

iii.      To ask officers to report back to this committee in March 2013 to outline suggestions from the member steering group for a project or projects to support young people in Cambridge.

Reason for the Decision:

As per the officer report

Any alternative options considered and rejected:

Not Applicable

Scrutiny Considerations:

The committee received a report from the Head of Community Development regarding the proposed city centre youth venue.

The committee thanked the officers involved in supporting the process and agreed that in the absence of identified support from young people the project was too risky. Support was expressed for the Urban Sports festival.

The Executive Councillor for Community Development and Health thanked the Councillors O’Reilly and Kerr for their involvement in the project group.

Officers were encouraged to liaise with the operators of the Saffron Walden skate. The Head of Community Development confirmed that this was already being progressed.

The Scrutiny Committee considered the recommendations and endorsed unanimously.

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

Conflicts of interest declared by the Executive Councillor (and any dispensations granted)

N/A 

Matter for Decision:

The report set out a proposal to work in partnership with the YMCA to explore options with young people to look at the practicalities of providing a new venue for young people in the centre of Cambridge.

Decision of Executive Councillor for Community Development and Health

The Executive Councillor resolved to:

             I.      Agree that the Council should work in partnership with the YMCA to explore options with young people, as set out in section 4 of this report, with the aim of providing a new facility for young people in the centre of Cambridge;

          II.      Agree that £80,000 from the East Area Capital Grants Programme be provisionally allocated to the project until firm proposals have been worked up and agreed and costs have been established; and

       III.      Appoint three scrutiny members who would provide a sounding board for officers as they take this project forwards with the YMCA.

Reason for the Decision:

The Council is committed to prioritising services for children and young people. This commitment was reinforced in January when the outcomes from the review of the Children and Young People’s Participation Service (ChYpPS) were reported to this committee.

Any alternative options considered and rejected:

Not applicable.

Scrutiny Considerations:

The committee received a report from the Head of Community Development regarding the options and practicalities of providing a new venue for young people in the centre of Cambridge.

Councillor Kerr proposed an additional recommendation to read:

·        To appoint three scrutiny members who would provide a sounding board for officers as they take this project forwards with the YMCA.

Members welcomed the additional recommendations.

The committee made the following comments.

             I.      Young people who are residents of the YMCA who potential have a high level of needs and young people who would be using an entertainment venue were two distinct groups.

          II.      They had distinct needs and risk factors which could be problematic in a shared space.

       III.      Concerns were expressed about the potential interactions of the two groups.

      IV.      Crating two separate spaces, perhaps with separate entrances, was also seen as potentially problematic.

         V.      Would parents want their younger teens using a mixed-use venue?

      VI.      Members questioned the validity of the survey results, as most respondents were not in the target age group.

   VII.      The concerns of local residents needed to be taken into account.

The Head of Community Development confirmed that his team shared the members concerns. The survey respondents were self-selecting. However, demand for this type of venue had been recoded over a long period. He confirmed that the YMCA managed this type of venue in other locations and that the options was worth considering.

Councillor Bick stated that the proposal was potentially a good idea. However, if the issues of co-existence in the single venue could not be managed to members’ satisfaction the proposal would not go ahead. He further confirmed that a dedicated facility was beyond the reach of current resources. Working with a partner agency to share an existing, staffed, facilities was the only viable option at present. 

The Scrutiny Committee considered and endorsed the amended recommendations in the report by 8 votes to 0.

The Executive Councillor for Community Development and Health approved the recommendations.

Conflicts of interest declared by the Executive Councillor (and any dispensations granted)

N/A