|
orward Gamlingay!’ as a group has been looking at ways of developing the community facilities for sport, leisure and educational opportunities for both adults and youth alike.
At a meeting in May we had the pleasure of a presentation from Dan Jones, an architect with a passion for design of community regeneration projects. Dan introduced us to the resources of The Glass House Trust which is a charitable organisation offering assistance for projects such as ours through advice, funding and training courses. We were invited to send up to 12 young people aged between 11 and 17 on a three day residential Young Space Makers course at Trafford Hall near Chester.
The cost of this course was £5,287.50 but our application for funding from The Glass House was successful and we received a grant of £5,199.30 with The Parish Council kindly agreeing to pay the balance.
The twelve places were quickly filled on a first come first served basis from those involved in the proposed skate park and youth club, the new scout building, and the youth shelter that has already won funding from No Voice No Choice.
At lunchtime on Friday 23rd July Ben and Chris Sturtivant, Luke Westergreen-Thorne, Josh Baker, Adam Brown, Richard O’Shea, William Colebrook, Luke Payne, Gareth and Ben Evans, Edward Peers and Ben Bates set out with their volunteer drivers and responsible(?) adults Fay Boissieux, Jane Colebrook and Chris Smith.
On arrival we were introduced to the other groups, one from Bradford and the other from Skegness; the ground rules set by the course leader Gary were simply to respect the building and other people. Throughout the weekend we were given total freedom of the hall and its 14 acres. We were supplied with unlimited food at the three main meals, interspersed with a never ending supply of tea, coffee, soft drinks and biscuits. Our accommodation was in chalet style twin rooms in the converted greenhouses which all opened out onto an attractive, working Victorian kitchen garden.
The course started on the Friday evening with individual groups drawing plans of their own community and then describing it and their aspirations for its development. Whilst the interests of the groups differed there was a common feeling of a lack of areas and facilities where youth could meet without local residents resenting their presence. Clearly we need to provide facilities where youth can meet and feel welcome.
On the Saturday we had two case study visits to Moss Side and Hulme, two areas of central Manchester that had benefited from recent redevelopment with the heart of the residential development being centred on parkland with lots of activity areas and a central community building. We were impressed by the landscaping used to make the parks 3 dimensional. Also the number of different places where youths could gather rather than being confined to a single area where one group may tend to dominate to the exclusion of others. A new concept to many of us were MUGAs – Multi User Games Areas, an idea we should consider for Gamlingay. The shelters in the parks were imaginative and varied, (our proposed shelter seemed dull and poor value in comparison – so look for the new ideas we will be presenting). Even the skate parks had our keen skaters rethinking their plans.
The Saturday afternoon sessions were based on collating the new ideas that had been inspired by the morning visits and then learning about the help that is available to communities wanting to improve their facilities
Where and how can we get funding?
What professional help is available for design and project management?
Who do we need to communicate our ideas to and what are the most effective methods?
An enjoyable Saturday night was had with a vast Barbecue then exercising our lungs with a long and lively karaoke session until midnight.
Sunday was more coursework with the most popular event being a teambuilding exercise to construct an egg catching device that would catch a raw egg thrown from an upstairs window without breaking the shell. What made the event a real challenge was the auction for the limited materials made available to the teams to build their device. Each team was given £50 to bid for the 25 lots on offer. This made the teams plan their strategies before the auction and made them consider the most effective use of the limited resources. The scouts team played their trump card by having their county cricketer to throw the egg. It was only after he missed the catching device that he confessed to being a wicketkeeper who never normally threw a ball!
The overall aim of the course was to enable young people to become involved with development of community facilities by contributing their ideas and learning to communicate their opinions with confidence. The various sessions were so cleverly put together that each group evolved with effective teamwork to produce plans of their respective projects and a clear action plan of how to progress their ideas. At some time through the 3 days each and every member of the course took the opportunity to present their own group’s ideas to the course as a whole. It was really impressive to see the young people speak publicly and with such confidence.
The consensus at the end of the weekend was one of overwhelming enthusiasm and optimism. Not only had the course been great fun but it stimulated the belief that by acting as a group and by taking advantage of the support and advice available then our pipe dreams can be developed and turned into reality.
For the adults there was a great pride in the behaviour of the young designers. They were treated as adults by the hosts of the course and they never once abused this trust. They were all a credit to their parents and to Gamlingay and a real pleasure to be with throughout the weekend.
The Parish Council are thanked for their support in helping to arrange and fund this course. A letter of thanks has been sent to the Glass House and to the organisers of the course
| 
