Smalltown and Dullbridge Town Council is searching for members of the younger generation to join a new Youth Council, an initiative which hasn’t been tried since 2005, when the previous Youth Council was disbanded due to a lack of interest amongst disaffected youngsters in the two towns.
The Smalltown Media and Uproar Genius (SMUG) said “This time the Youth Council will not be about party politics, or just for those interested in politics. In fact, we arent going to mention politics at all, instead we will concentrate on making sure that the youngsters become interested in the work councils do by reminding them that all councillors receive a free computer tablet, which comes pre-installed with ‘Solitaire’ so that they can make themselves look busy. “
“At an age when they should be hanging around Chateau Park, drinking scumpy and getting to know their friends intimately, we’ve come up with an alternative way for them to have fun! We are looking for young swots aged between 15-19 who live in the Smalltown and Dullbridge area to work with us to develop a Youth Council.”
“We want them to come up with some new and exciting ideas for what they would like to see in their area and then work with them to make those ideas reality. Our Councillors gave the matter ten minutes thought, couldn’t think of anything, decided against going to Chateau Park to ask for ideas and have decided to get the kids to come to us instead.”
In 2005 the Youth Council came up with a raft of suggestions for improvements, including an end to school uniforms, free cider for under 18s, a ‘live’ version of Grand Theft Auto in Main Street and the reintroduction of the Town Stocks in Chateau Park, where members of staff from Queen Ethelred’s School could be pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately the Youth Council was disbanded before any of these ideas came to fruition.
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The first meeting will be hosted by the Town Clerk, Tanya Summer, and Councillor Fawn Fairy.
Cllr. Fairy said “I’m really excited to be hosting this exceedingly exciting event and I hope our youngsters will be equally excited. What could be more exciting than joining in with the exhilarating excitement of a Youth Council?”
Free lollipops and stickers will be handed out at the event to encourage attendance.