Why here?.... Why now?

Barnstaple is the largest market town in Northern Devon and is identified as a sub-regional
centre.  The 2001 census population of 29,331 (youth pop. est. 4,100 10yrs-24yrs) has risen to c.30,100  & is set to rise significantly over the next few years with an estimated 1,250 new dwellings planned in Barnstaple from 2005 to 2011. The majority of these dwellings are planned on brown field sites in the town. As yet inadequate provision has been made for the positive inclusion of young people. There is no community centre in the town, whilst the adjacent wards of St. Mary’s & Trinity Wards are amongst the highest rated on the national index of multiple deprivation & child poverty indices. Barnstaple has been recognised by the Devon Strategic Partnership, North Devon Community Alliance & the Local Agreement Board as one of the top priorities for regeneration & support.

Recent social services figures indicate that the level of children in need is particularly high in
Barnstaple Town (almost twice the number of children in Barnstaple per. 1,000 population
compared to the rest of Devon) with approximately 2,500 children & young people deemed to be very vulnerable. Levels of family poverty are high and, at 7%, the percentage of lone parents is higher than Devon’s average, with some parts of Barnstaple rising to over 11%.
The number of offences committed by young people has been increasing in the Barnstaple area, with a 15% rise recorded in the number of young people involved in crime over the last two years.
The Youth Offending Team have identified particular concerns around a number of socially
excluded young people where multiple factors including family break down, drug and substance misuse and barriers to accessing education and employment etc. have serious impacts upon the welfare of the young people involved & increase the risks of them offending or being victimised.
Analysis of DCC statistics (Youth Offending Team Dec. 2005) indicate that levels of persistentyouth offending in two areas of Barnstaple rank significantly higher that any other area of the County. Much of the local employment is within the declining agricultural industry, a reduced number of small factories, uncertain retail outlets and the seasonal tourist industry. There is currently a mismatch between the employment young people would like and availability of opportunity, particularly in construction, motor vehicle, retailing and business sectors. Many of our young people struggle to find fulfilling work and are further disadvantaged through ruralisolation and the lack of affordable transport or accommodation, whilst some are limited due tobeing unprepared in key employment skills. Health Service targets in North Devon relating specifically to young people currently include - teenage pregnancy (and particularly take up of appropriate ante-natal services); smoking cessation programmes; access to and take up of Chlamydia testing; healthy lifestyles coaching designed to address problems associated with lack of exercise/personal fitness, poor diet & obesity, stress management, personal relationships & sexual health.

Local Consultation & Effective Partnership Working.
The Barnstaple Alliance has been engaged in widespread consultation with the public throughout 2005. Public response to the Barnstaple “Our Town” consultations placed the demand for increased provision for young people in the top three priority action areas (46%). BYH is currently undertaking significant consultation with young people to identify their priority ranking for services, facilities and activities to inform planning and development of the new Youth House Complex & aredesigned information, advice and guidance service. Continuous assessment of need and service development is also ongoing through active participation in the Devon Children’s Trust Local Forum. Barnstaple Youth House is well established, well managed and is already offering a wide variety of activities and services to young people. There is no purpose built statutory centre for youth work provision in Barnstaple & it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the demand for space & facilities. Several much needed projects/services have had to be turned away and the new Youth House Complex will be able to accommodate additional youth services & projects and to expand activity to include a wide range of community uses — thereby achieving its goals of being responsive to changing social, educational & economic needs, whilst becoming self financing in the longer term. NDDC plans for the expansion of the adjacent Queen’s Theatre and Pannier Market currently provide crucial opportunities for BYH to contribute to and benefit from major town centre developments.