Local News Stories For Todmorden

Todmorden's Young People To Get More Say On Local Concerns

Calder Valley’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate, Steph Booth, has welcomed a Government cash boost for Todmorden that’s set to give young people a bigger say on important issues in their community.

Responding to an award of £37,000 from the Government’s Connecting Communities programme, she said she was delighted to hear the Council were planning to use some of the money to set up a new youth forum.

“In tough economic times we need to protect the fabric of our communities,” she said. “I hope this funding will lead to young people getting services that really meet their expectations and encourage them to stay here and play a more active role in their community.”

“Our Council has succeeded in alienating far too many young people and this is thankfully a step in the right direction,”

The money is set to fund a number of local projects, which as well as a new youth forum include mobile surgeries offering training and employment advice and ‘safe space’ events where people can share their concerns with community and civic leaders.

But while she welcomed Government investment in community projects for young people, Mrs Booth warned that Calderdale Council had neglected young people for too long.

“Our Council has succeeded in alienating far too many young people and this is thankfully a step in the right direction,” she said. “The latest national place survey shows that the majority of people questioned in Calderdale believe there needs to be more activities for teenagers. But unfortunately, while we have Councillor Craig Whittaker in charge of children’s services, their wishes are falling on deaf ears. He seems more interested in running Calderdale down and peddling ‘broken Britain’ propaganda for David Cameron rather than doing anything positive for children and young people in Calderdale.”