YOUTH PROJECT'S FUTURE

The 3B’s Street Project - currently operated by Brigg Town Council in partnership with Broughton Town Council and Barnetby Parish Council – employs three street leaders who are tasked to meet with the young people in each of the three parishes, and to provide a range of activities, sports and pastimes, as an alternative to ‘hanging about on street corners’.
It provides a valuable link for each of the three partner councils with young people in their parish, and helps to dispel the oft-quoted youth claim: “There’s nothing for us to do” while also diffusing the perception of older members of the community that groups of young people who meet on the street are to be feared, and ‘must be up to no good’.
Sessions are held one night every week in Brigg, Broughton and Barnetby - and every third Friday evening in one of the parishes. And the project has recently been recognised by the Children’s Workforce Development Council Share! Project as one of seven beacon projects in the country - and in the case of the 3B’S specifically for its efforts in ‘changing behaviours focused on positive outcomes for young people’.
Originally funded by a successful Big Lottery bid which provided £160,000 over three years as a kick-start to get the project up and running, it is now down to each of the three parish councils to find the funding needed for their community to continue receiving the benefits from this project.
Brigg Town Council is committed to ensuring that the 3Bs Street Project will continue at the end of its third year – beyond July 2011, and has earmarked the funds within its Precept in the event that alternative funding can not be secured.
Broughton Town Council has indicated that it will not commit the £20,000 needed to continue with the same service and does not wish to be involved beyond July 2011, while Barnetby only feels willing to earmark £5,000. However, it has been suggested the village could try for local sponsorship or perhaps find another parish nearby to join in a partnership arrangement, 3Bs sessions then being shared equally between them.
There is also a glimmer of hope that the Big Lottery might be persuaded to look at providing sustainability funding - although it would not be un-reasonable to expect that any such funding would have to be matched.
If Barnetby joins Broughton in opting out, Brigg Town Council could also explore the possibility of finding other parishes in the area interested in coming onboard.
At the Joint 3Bs Project Committee’s latest meeting in the Angel Suite, Brigg Town Clerk Jeanette Woollard said it could be that Brigg Town Council would have to set Barnetby a deadline to find that extra funding, in order to ensure that Brigg had time to explore other avenues of funding.
Brigg’s Coun Sue Nicholson, who was chairing the meeting, stressed: “We need a final decision.”
Barnetby Parish Council was represented and meets again in a couple of weeks. Its view is £20,000 would result in an unacceptable cost per household on the precept, but it is prepared to pledge a quarter of that amount.
Ex-Town Mayor, Coun John Tweedie, representing Broughton, said their view was North Lincolnshire Council, with its greater resources, ought to be funding the 3Bs Project in the future. Coun Beth Gathercole, also representing Broughton Town Council, felt they should be asked to re-visit that decision, in light of the possibility that sustainability funding may become available.
Members were advised that a team of young people attending 3B’s sessions has been entered in the forthcoming Night Challenge.
Youngsters enjoying 3Bs sessions will also have more fun opportunities shortly, as the committee has approved the purchase of a Wii games console (costing about £400).