“Do get in touch if you have some ideas!” [Sidmouth’s county councillor]
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It doesn’t look good for Sidmouth’s reputation with the headline in the Daily Express this weekend: Chaos in quiet UK seaside town as drunken mob go on violent rampage. In the Sidmouth Herald piece looking at how youths caused criminal damage to Sidmouth’s Connaught Gardens, shock was expressed by Sidmouth councillors, as something quite unexpected and unprecedented.
Can anything be ‘done’ to ‘future-proof’ Sidmouth against such incidents?
Sidmouth already has several CCTV cameras – and a debate a decade ago showed there were mixed views on a new Sidmouth CCTV scheme which suggested that crime in Sidmouth was at one of the lowest levels in the country (until the latest incident, that is…)
On the other hand, Sidmouth does not have much ‘youth provision’. Eight years ago, Sidmouth’s sole nightclub Carinas closed permanently and last year, Manstone Youth Centre was also permanently closed. Only last month, a local councillor was saying we need to do more for young people in Devon.
It was good news, then, that the new Youth Hub was launched by Y@S in September:
The town council is still exploring more provision for teenagers. Let’s see what this year brings for them…
In the meantime, young people entering adulthood, as they go into the world of work or try to establish their own home, are finding it difficult.
It’s been recently reported that East Devon is ranked the eighth least affordable for home buyers – although the county council has just announced measures to tackle the county housing shortage and Sidmouth Gateway helps provide for the homeless.
In the youth survey for the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan, one of the topmost pleas from young people was for ‘interesting jobs’ in the area – but like many other such resorts, Sidmouth is very much low wage seaside, whether it’s in hospitality or the care industry.
Nevertheless, whilst there are fewer jobs, there is higher pay in the South West and working from home – working from the seaside is becoming a viable and attractive option. Besides, does every job in the Sid Valley have the potential to be green? So, even in these parts, there might be opportunities for young people.
It’s a very difficult task to ‘future-proof’ Sidmouth for its younger people, but they are our future and surely need to be cherished.
The county councillor for Sidmouth will be visiting Axminster’s Waffle House soon to see what ideas we can ‘magpie.’ As she says in her recent piece on how we need to do more for young people in Devon, “We will need volunteers for this, so have a think if it’s something you might like to get involved with, and do get in touch if you have some ideas. Our young people need us to give them opportunities to socialise, grow and be safe.”
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