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"Brilliant" and "cool" - that's the verdict on a new teenage play area being launched by young people in the New Forest with a celebratory open event complete with bands, a barbecue and other activities. The evening on 24 July, is to celebrate the culmination of two years hard work by young people, supported by Hampshire County Council's youth team and Hardley School, to bring about improvements to facilities for young people in Hardley. The teenagers wanted to make better use of a grass area alongside the Colours Youth Club in Hardley. With the help of staff from the County Council's youth team they set about preparing a bid for funding under theYouth Capital Fund grant scheme administerd by Hampshire County Council. The young people researched suitable equipment and helped in the design of the area working with the County Council's architects. The bid was successful and a grant of £129,000 was obtained to help transform the grass area into a teenage play area. The new facilities offer a range of equipment from a multi-use games area, an aerial flyer called a twinfly, climbing boulders, an outdoor pool table, a skysurf skateboard on rails and, a shelter with cover, table and seats. This has all been topped off with landscaping to provide a new facility for members of the club and the wider youth community. The new facility will be unveiled with young people from the Youth Club demonstrating the equipment from 4pm. Councillor David Kirk, Hampshire County Council's Executive Lead Member for Children's Services will attend the opening along with other local dignitaries from the district council, police and other youth organisations. He said: "I am delighted to be attending this open event. This project is an excellent example of the County Council being able to work with young people on a new facility which they felt was much-needed to improve recreational opportunities for young people. The area has largely been created and designed by them. "People are all to quick to judge young people in a negative light these days but this project is a wonderful example of the hard work and resourcefulness of a group of young people, who were all motivated to bring about a positive change to create a facility which will benefit other young people in the area. I congratulate them all and the youth team staff who have supported them throughout this project." The area certainly has the thumbs up from young people. Comments so far from young people about the new facilities include "it's brilliant" it's really Cool!" and "it's great fun". News Source: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/ |
