Millennium Services Volunteer Programme some of our youth councillors have already started on this programme - we are looking at the possibility of some of the others following suit. This would provide them with a Community Service Award after a certain number of hours of voluntary work are completed within the community.  It is hoped that in addition other youngsters might be encouraged to put themselves forward for community service in the Wayland area through this scheme .  

A Skateboard Park in Watton  This has been ongoing for some time.  The Youth Council was involved at an early stage, in the consultation and planning process and has been supporting the Town Council in the work they have been doing to try to provide such a wonderful facility.  Part of the research done showed that the young skateboarders wanted a moderate park with smaller pieces of equipment so that all ages could use it without feeling out of their depth.  The Youth Council also consulted with the local Police Crime Prevention officer on the suitability of the site at an early stage.  An bid for funding has been forwarded to Sport for England, formulated by the Town Council and supported by the Recreational Facilities Group (see below)

Youth Recreational Project   This initiative has been led by Watton Town Council and Wayland Partnership working together.  This group is an informal one, with representation from organisations  such as the Sports Centre, Wayland Community High School, Breckland District Council  and the Wayland Youth Council - it also has links with the Chamber of Trade and the Tourism Association for informational purposes.  It was recognised that there were many groups wishing to put in funding applications for various recreational projects in Watton, some to the same funding body.  It was felt that, from an early stage, these groups should be working together to ensure the best possible outcome for these applications.   Projects being considered within this group are enhanced pitches at the High School & resurfacing of tennis courts, drainage of the land to the rear of Watton Youth Centre, provision of a Skateboard Park, replacement of the play area at Lovell Gardens, and resurfacing of the tennis Courts at the Sports Centre.  A Sports Development Officer is also likely to be appointed through the Wayland Partnership  to help co-ordinate new initiatives of this nature.   Of course the Youth Council has a key role to play in this group making sure that the facilities provided are what is wanted and needed by the young, and providing information and research to support this where needed.

A Youth Shelter at Watton Youth Centre  With support from students from Wayland Community High School through their Design Technology department, it is hoped that designs will shortly be drawn up for a 'teen shelter' at the Youth Shelter. The Youth Council will then need to address sponsorship, planning issues and funding of the project but it is hoped that a shelter designed and devised by the youngsters themselves will then be put before the Youth Centre Committee for approval.

A Twinning Partnership with the Young People of Weeze, Germany  The Youth Council is working with Norfolk Youth & Community Service and the Twinning Association on setting up links with young people in our partner town of Weeze.  It is hoped that the Youth Council will join the Twinning Association on their trip at Whitsun and all are working very hard to enable this. 

Work with other organisations  The Youth Council has been working with other organisations providing youth services or facilities in the town.  The Youth Council for the past year has hosted 'Youth Venue' meetings to discuss a centre where young people could call in for a chat, safe haven, meet their friends etc.  Mid Norfolk Youth for Christ, who were attending these meetings, picked up on this initiative, and are now about to open a Youth Cafe in the Old Brewery Premises on the High Street.  All involved feel that this is wonderful news and worth all the hard work which was put in over the preparation time by the group and in particular Mid Norfolk Youth for Christ.  Another example of the way in which the Youth Council works in partnership is with St Mary's Church.  Members were pleased to welcome the new minister for this area, Canon Mair Talbot, to a recent meeting.  St Mary's Church have worked hard on provision for young people over the last few years, and the new team wishes to continue this work by keeping good contact through other service providers and supporting them where possible.  Several  ideas were discussed and it was felt that St Mary's would easily be able to keep their strong links with the young people in various different ways, and it was felt that this meeting was a wonderful progressive start. 

Enhanced working with Parishes and Partnerships  As the Youth Council is still quite young, it regularly stops to check how it is performing in relation to its terms of reference (the 'target' guidelines).  This is one area which the Youth Council hopes to work on more over the coming year.  Originally it was hoped that the Youth Councillors might be able to visit the parishes regularly to update themselves on parish issues but for various different reasons (transport, meeting clashes, heavy study commitments) this has not been happening.  The Youth Council therefore has decided to try another method of working in relation to parish and partnership working.  Each Youth Council meeting has an 'OPEN SESSION' at the start of the meeting where visitors are welcome and can exchange information and ideas.  After this session the visitors, who the youth council recognises are often busy people themselves, are welcome to leave and the Youth Council continues with its normal meeting.  The Youth Council really hopes that the parishes will come in to say hello and that communication will be vastly improved as a result.  The Youth Councillors are also very keen as a whole to receive minutes of Parish and Partnership meetings. If these could be sent via Bella Sandcraft, their Clerk, it would give the Youth Councillors a picture of what is going on in the parishes and how they may be able to contribute.  For a schedule of meeting dates please go to our  2003 meeting dates page. 

Web Site/Information Services  One of the original targets the Youth Council set themselves was to improve information available for young people.  It is hoped that this website is just the start - over the next few months it is hoped that this will be improved further to incorporate information about  whats on for young people in Watton and generally be given a more funky feel.  Watch this space!    If you have any information you would like included in these pages please e-mail the clerk with details on asandcraft@aol.com