YOUNG People in and Whitehill and Bordon were top of the agenda at a meeting for representatives from community organisations at the town’s Forest Community Centre last Thursday.

The event was organised by the charity Community First, working with volunteers from the Whitehill and Bordon Town Partnership, to discuss ways to work together to support the needs of the town’s youth.

There were five key speakers, starting with James Child, project director at the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company, which is redeveloping an area centred on Prince Philip Barracks to provide a new shopping centre, cinema, leisure centre, homes and Mill Chase Academy.

Mr Child spoke about the new town centre - its shops, cinema, leisure centre and schools. He also outlined the plans for an education building at the Hogmoor Inclosure SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace) - which will provide green recreation space for the increased number of residents moving into the town’s new homes - and a potential youth cafe building near the new skatepark at the junction of Budds Lane and Station Road.

Karla Reale, a volunteer from the Whitehill and Bordon Town Partnership, updated the meeting about the Partnership’s Teen Wipe Out event, scheduled to take place on Bank Holiday Monday, May 7. The Partnership is also working with youth charity Fleet Phoenix to set up a new project for young people in the town.

The project aims to be an open-access, drop-in advice, information, guidance and mentoring project for young people aged 13 to 25. Ms Reale also promoted the Town Partnership’s Youth Partnership Group, which for many years now has ensured that events and activities have been provided for young people in the town.

Whitehill town councillor Chris Mitchell spoke about the free facilities that the council manages in the open spaces in the town - the new skatepark, the BMX track and kick wall for example.

Dominic Clarke, from the Beacon, a new church being planned in the town, told the group about the church’s approach to working with young people and confirmed that funding had been raised to employ a youth worker for the Beacon Church in 2019.

Finally, Becka Jarvis, senior youth worker at Youth First (the youth arm of the charity Community First), explained that the work Youth First carried out with young people in the town indicated what a youth worker was and was not.

She described Youth First’s dream of providing a dedicated youth facility in the new town development.

Part of the evening was spent networking and allowing organisations to find ways to support each other and there was a wide range of organisations represented. These included the Prince’s Trust, sports clubs, the police, conservation groups, The Phoenix Theatre and Arts Centre. There were also representatives with an interest in disability, councillors, council officers, secondary school staff and health and wellbeing officers. The funding and sustainability of projects was identified as a common challenge.

It was agreed more work was needed to identify potential spaces - both buildings and outdoor space - where young people could gather safely.

There was a lively discussion about engagement of young people and the rest of the community in future projects.

“There is a great deal of work still to be done to bring the much-needed places and opportunities for the young people of the town,” said Mr Child. “We are looking forward to working closely with active community groups and East Hampshire District Council to bring forward sustainable plans for places for young people in the town for sports, leisure and arts projects, and training and apprenticeship opportunities.”

“This meeting gave the Whitehill and Bordon Town Partnership the opportunity to network with a wide range of other organisations about our youth projects,” said Ms Reale.

“It is important that young people see that the regeneration benefits them, providing projects and services to support existing and new residents so we do not create a divided generation.

“This needs to be in the now, not in the next year or two. Young people are the future of Whitehill and Bordon and we must give them the chance to reach their potential, have fun, build their confidence and self-esteem and be proud to be part of the community.”

* Anyone interested in joining in and supporting the development of activities, facilities and support for young people in the town, should contact Claire Coxwell, at Community First, on 07467 941003 or e-mail her at claire.coxwell@

cfirst.org.uk.