Safe space launched for young people to socialise

4 hours ago

Maisie LillywhiteGloucestershire

News image — The café will offer free activities, food and drink every week

Cheltenham Borough Council A Regency terrace, comprised of one cream coloured building and a pale grey one. There is a large black awning with the words "Smokey Joe's" in white writing and a sign above it that reads "Vintage Smokey Joe's Retro". — The café will offer free activities, food and drink every week

A pilot project is being launched aimed at giving young people a safe place to socialise while also reducing antisocial behaviour.

Charity No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and The Music Works will be jointly launching the Youth Café pilot at Smokey Joe's in Cheltenham town centre.

The café will offer free activities, food and drink, and will run weekly on Thursday afternoons from 12 February to 2 April, between 15:30 and 18:30 GMT.

Daniel Cunningham from The Music Works said there is "not a lot on offer for young people", with the charity offering the use of its music and production equipment to attendees.

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The project is being launched in response to last year's NCLB Year of Youth Action including outreach youth work by youth club The Rock Cheltenham, along with a consultation carried out by Springbank Community Group.

Young people said in the consultations that there was a lack of "an affordable and dedicated space" in the town centre for them to gather safely, Cheltenham Borough Council said.

Nick Evans, deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, said his office had invested just short of £10,000 into the project.

"The Minster and Cheltenham's Lower High Street have been identified as a hotspot location for anti-social behaviour due to drug dealing, drug use and alcohol consumption, as well as concerns for young people," Evans said.

Nick Evans, a man perhaps in his 50s with a navy suit, pale shirt, and tie, smiles with his hands held together as he stands in front of the Gloucestershire Police headquarters sign at the front of the building. — Nick Evans said the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has invested £10,000 into the café pilot project

"We're taking a direct, preventative approach by putting support in the right place at the right times for vulnerable people."

Cunningham, from Gloucester-based charity The Music Works, said young people in the town are "shouting out for stuff to do".

"We'll be bringing our music activities. We have a recording facilities on our music bus, which will be part of the offer," he said.

Cunningham added the charity will also bring along music production and DJing equipment to the sessions, which will be managed by youth workers from The Rock Cheltenham and Springbank Community Group CiC.

The neighbourhood policing team will also be supporting the café.

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