Public meeting on the future of South Molton's Youth Centre

The decision has finally been taken for Devon Youth Service to shut the Youth Resource Centre in South Molton from the beginning of November.

The DYS youth groups have already closed down, and only YMCA is left providing groups for young people in the town. But there is every hope that this will lead to a new lease of life for the South Molton Youth Resource Centre if a local charity is able to take over the running of the Centre.

YMCA South Molton has been working with YMCA Exeter for the past six months to put together a joint plan to save the Centre, and are hoping to take over the lease of the Centre later this year and transform it into a resource the whole community can use, not only young people. Everyone of all ages would be welcome to use the centre, including charities, businesses and private individuals, with all proceeds going to enable YMCA to continue providing much needed youth provision in the town.

However the success of this plan depends on the local community getting involved to support the YMCA. Therefore the YMCA is calling a PUBLIC CONSULTATION MEETING at 7pm on Friday 24th October, to take place in the Youth Resource Centre. The aim of the meeting is to give the local community the opportunity to find out more about the YMCA’s plans, and to give their ideas and suggestions of how the Centre can be used to serve the community better than it has been to date.

Peter Stephenson, Chief Executive of YMCA Exeter, will be at the meeting next week and said, “This Centre is a fantastic building, and we are doing all we can to make sure that it stays open and is not boarded up. More than that, we want to make it work much better than it has in the past to serve the needs of the whole community. Obviously as a youth charity, young people are uppermost in our thoughts, but young people’s welfare depends on having strong vibrant communities to live in. I have been really encouraged by the support for our plans that has come from the Town Council, the County Council, and local people I have spoken with, and this support will be vital to making the Centre all it can and should be.”

County Councillor Jeremy Yabsley said, “It is with great reluctance that the County Council took the decision to close down the South Molton Youth Resource Centre in the light of much reduced funding from Westminster, and we have been working hard to find ways for the Centre to be taken over by the local community. I am delighted that YMCA are rising to this challenge, and hope that the whole community – business, charity, local individuals – will get behind them to make their ambitious plans become a reality.”