EYE Project Memorandum and Chronology

The Proposal

It is proposed that Billingshurst Community Partnership proceed with the Planning of a Youth Centre for the Billingshurst Community. Costs associated are likely to be in the region of £30k and if successful the cost of building the Centre would be in the region of £800k; subsequent revenue costs associated with the Centre would be £20k per annum plus any professional staff costs

Various sites have been considered and the preferred site for the building is to incorporate it into the Station Road Gardens Project. This would clearly demonstrate the community ownership of the facility, be close to, but not part of the Weald School and provide refreshment and toilet facilities for the Gardens.

When completed the Centre would operate on a similar Trust basis to that employed for the Village Hall; with the Parish Council taking the role of Custodian Trustees. Responsibility for managing the Centre would be entrusted to a Managing Trustee Board, which would involve representatives of the various User Groups plus 2 Parish Councillors.

The Need

• The need for a dedicated Youth Facility has been raised in a number of strategic surveys- Billingshurst Parish and Community Partnership Plans, and the Horsham District Sustainable Community Strategy.

An independent assessment has been carried out to evaluate and demonstrate the need for the facility. Local police have also confirmed that a lack of things to do and places to go contributes to anti-social behaviour in Billingshurst, as young people congregate in the station and shopping areas. Some positive initiatives have been undertaken to address the problem, but without sufficient indoor space for young people to congregate, this issue remains a problem.

There is also a need for the significant number of households within Billingshurst who, with low incomes may struggle to find the time, resources and transport to access youth activities as the village lacks youth specific venues. For example there are no suitable cafes, and although the TAG Youth Club at the Village Hall, and other associated activities are popular, there are issues with both capacity and conflict with non-youth users. The closure of the on-site weald Youth Wing has exacerbated the problem, although it is true it did not attract a wide spectrum of young people because it was located within the school. The good news is that West Sussex County Council has indicated a willingness to fund the staffing of a new youth facility in the village.

The Weald school has indicated that they could use the facilities during school hours to accommodate additional non-curricula activities. This is an important benefit to the project as it will make it easier to attract capital. Just as important is the link the community can make with the school since more than 50% of the students are within the RH14 area.

The Facility

The basic concept underpinning the project is to provide a community driven flexible building to encourage young people in the age range 10 to 18 years old to drop in on an informal basis, but also partake in some structured activities as appropriate. The building will comprise space for a coffee lounge, a main multipurpose hall as well as meeting rooms, catering facilities and toilets. Additional public toilets will be accessed from the gardens and a hatchway will serve a covered terrace from the kitchen.

The types of use envisaged would include:

• Young People surveyed want a facility to enjoy both unstructured and structured activities. The former would include simply a social place to hang about with refreshments, pool and table tennis tables, internet access and gaming. The latter themed events, discos, film nights etc.
• The Weald want additional premises to put on courses, which would benefit from a non classroom environment. For example anger management; DoE award training which provides the link between school and home. Overflow training and meeting space for sixth formers would be welcomed as would the opportunity to put on open access exhibitions.
• From reviewing experiences at other similar facilities there is also potential to provide: health advice and information sessions and drop-in such as sexual health, including advice and STD testing; police and PCSO sessions and contact etc.