Town council launches consultation into its youth services

Bridgnorth Town Council has launched a consultation with children and young people to help shape future facilities, activities, and opportunities for young people in the town.

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The consultation focuses on two key areas: the planned refurbishment of Crown Meadow Play Area, for which the town council has already set aside funding, and the wider question of what young people would like to see provided for them in Bridgnorth.

For Crown Meadow, the town council said it wanted to hear from the children and young people who use the play area, as well as those who currently don't, about what they like, what could be improved and what they would like to see as part of its refurbishment.

Young people are also being invited to tell town councillors what they think about existing opportunities in Bridgnorth, what they feel is missing and what would make the town a better place for children and young people.

The consultation also asks whether young people would be interested in events specifically for them and invites them to put forward their own ideas about what those events could look like. Another important part of the consultation looks at how young people can have a greater voice in decisions about their town.

The town council said it wants to understand whether young people would like more opportunities to contribute to local decision-making and how they would like that involvement to work, including whether there is interest in developing a more formal way for young people's views to feed into the Council.

The Mayor of Bridgnorth, Councillor Chris Aked, said: “We want Bridgnorth's young people to know that their views matter and that they have an important part to play in the future of their town.

“We have funding set aside to refurbish Crown Meadow Play Area, and this is a real opportunity for the children and young people who use it – and those who currently don't – to help us understand what would make it better.

“But we also want to hear their ideas about Bridgnorth more widely. What do we do well for young people? What is missing? What would they like to see happening in the town? Rather than adults making assumptions about what young people want, we're asking them directly.

“We'd also like to understand whether young people want a stronger voice in decisions about their town and, if they do, what that could look like.

“I would encourage as many of Bridgnorth's young people as possible to take part and tell us what they think.”

Young people can complete the consultation online at the Bridgnorth Youth Consultation webpage.

Paper copies are also available from the Town Council Office and Bridgnorth Library.

The consultation closes on Sunday, October 31.