Community Youth Project

Jenny McIntyre, Community Youth Project Youth and Community Worker

West Berkshire Council has agreed a 999-year lease to hand over Greenham Community Centre to Greenham Common Trust to improve community facilities for local people.

The Trust is also investing over £150,000 to refurbish the building, which is currently in a poor state of repair and is difficult to hire out for functions. This will include installing a new kitchen and toilets.

The Community Youth Project, which was created in Bishops Green in 2000 to give young people education, training and life skills, has recently opened a youth club, activities and training programme for young people at the Community Centre in Greenham. Both projects have significantly reduced anti-social behaviour in the area. 

The Trust has supported Community Youth Project for over a decade with funding of over £100,000 and has recently bought a minibus to widen its extra curricular activities, which it shares with The Castle School.

It is also proposed to allow the Community Youth Project to take on the day-to-day management of the multi-use games area which has been operated by the Willows School, allowing it to be opened during evenings and weekends.

Pamela Bale, West Berkshire Executive Councillor for Partnerships said: “These arrangements ensure the important community facilities are more available and usable for local people. I am very pleased that our discussions with the school and Greenham Common Trust have proved so positive.”

Stuart Tagg, Chief Executive of Greenham Common Trust, added: “Greenham Common Trust is a great supporter of innovative initiatives like this which are so valuable to the local community. The Community Youth Project has already done a fantastic job at getting the community to work together in Greenham and we wish them and their partners all the very best in making the community centre a huge success.”

Jenny McIntyre, Youth and Community Worker at Community Youth Project, added: “Community Youth Project will work in partnership with the local community to ensure that these two facilities are used to their full potential at the heart of Greenham neighbourhood.  We look forward to the community centre receiving the much needed financial investment.”

Community Youth Project works in close partnership with:

Local Housing Associations
West Berkshire Council
Greenham Common Trust
Diamond Portacabin Association
Police and Community Support Officers
Greater Greenham Partnership
Greenham Community Association
The Willows School

Funding has been secured from the Community Plus Fund to fund a summer activities programme and the successful Youth Music Project in Bishops Green is being rolled out in Greenham. Jenny is working with West Berkshire Youth Service to develop a job seeking support programme for young people Not in Education, Employment and Education.

"We are working hard to develop new community groups at the centre including a parents and toddlers group, over 50s and volunteers are being trained up to open a Rainbows group this year. We want to make these projects sustainable so once volunteers are trained up they can run them without any assistance."

Communnity Youth Project is always on the look out for fundraising ideas and skilled volunteers to run workshops such as a graffiti specialist.

For more information please contact Jenny McIntyre on 0790 1927 210 or email jenny@communityyouth.org