Anniversary for community youth volunteer scheme

THE first anniversary is being celebrated this month for a community youth development programme in Minehead which has seen youngsters rewarded for volunteering to help out in their local community.
‘Dreamscheme - Seaward Way’, the Minehead branch of the national Dreamscheme initiative, is run by Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary and youth service staff from Somerset County Council, with support from many other local and national organisations.
It encourages young people to earn points through a series of community-based work projects, including litter-picking and gardening.
Earning 10 points for every hour spent on a community project, the youths can redeem their points on social activities.
One recent Dreamscheme trip invited young people to redeem 15 of their points in return for a free game of ten pin bowling.
The project was established in Seaward Way last autumn by PCSOs Rachel Cutler and Luisa Skinner and it continues to engage local young people in community-based activities as well as holding a weekly youth club for the over-10s.
The October school half-term is a busy week for the Dreamscheme, and young people can take part in activities such as a gardening project in the nearby playground and baking cakes for a senior citizens’ coffee morning.
Their efforts will be rewarded with a volunteer-run Halloween party on October 31.
PCSO Luisa Skinner said: “The Dreamscheme project is really popular among young people in Minehead.
“They feel great about contributing to improving the area they live in and enjoy the benefits of the rewards.
“Local residents are all very supportive of the scheme and one year on, it is still going from strength to strength.”
County council Minehead ward Councillor Ian Galloway, who contributed £500 to the project from his community budget, said: “The Dreamscheme is a great outlet for young people in the area, and I am very grateful for the hard work and commitment that our local PCSOs and youth workers have put into this project.
“I have been very happy to make a contribution via our community budget to this valuable scheme for our younger citizens.”
County council community safety portfolio holder, Councillor Henry Hobhouse, said: “We are committed to providing services for local people at all stages of their lives, and have contributed £475,000 of funding for the county’s PCSOs.
“The Dreamscheme is an excellent example of the council and the police encouraging young people to release their potential for the benefit of the community as a whole.”

• Our photograph shows youngsters on the Seaward Way estate being briefed on a litter pick earlier in the year. Photo submitted.

Litter and leaf picks keep youths occupied on autumn evenings

YOUNG members of the Dreamscheme project operating in the Seaward Way area of Minehead have been earning plenty of points by cleaning up litter and leaves on their estate.
They have been out and about on every Tuesday evening this month, braving the wind and rain, and have filled more 20 bags with the rubbish they have cleared.
Scheme co-ordinator Debbie Fitzpatrick said: “We now have activities planned leading up until Christmas, including hotdogs and a fireworks display, Christmas shopping, and an X Factor singing competition.”
During next week’s school half-term holiday, the youngsters will be baking their own cakes and taking them along to a senior citizens’ coffee morning and chatting with the elderly people, to earn even more points.
Dreamscheme rewards young people for helping in the community by awarding them points which can be used for treats such as trips to football matches or to go swimming.

• Our photograph shows some of the youngsters who have been giving up their evenings to collect litter and leaves at Seaward Way. Photo submitted.

Good behaviour by youngsters is rewarded by Dreamscheme

POLICE have praised the success of a scheme in Minehead which rewards youngsters for good behaviour on a housing estate.
Teenagers who act as ‘better citizens’ on the development off Seaward Way can enjoy activities such as fishing trips and days out at the Alton Towers theme park.
The Dreamscheme initiative was launched nationally last year with Home Office funding to help cut down youth crime.
Minehead police Inspector Carol Pearce said incidents of bad behaviour in Minehead had fallen greatly since the scheme started.
She said: “About 12 months ago, we were looking at 150 to 200 reports of anti-social behaviour for that period of the year.
“In the second period of the year since we started that process, we are looking at less than 10.
“It is demonstrating that if we do work with young people and the wider community on a one-to-one basis and people get to know who their beat managers are and who the young people are, if we work together and have community cohesion, we will have a better society for all of us to benefit from.”
‘Dreamscheme - Seaward Way’ celebrates its first anniversary this month.

• Our photograph shows some of the youngsters from the estate who were taken to see a Football League match at Plymouth Argyle in February of this year. Photo submitted.

Debbie earns respect for dedication to estate's youth inclusion project

A PRESENTATION has been made to a woman whose work with young people in the community has helped Avon and Somerset Police to reduce crime in West Somerset.
Debbie Fitzpatrick has co-ordinated the Dreamscheme community youth development project on the Seaward Way estate, in Minehead, since it started last October.
She received a certificate as part of Neighbourhood Watch Week from Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen.
The scheme, based on the concept of work, points and trips, aims to develop a sense of ownership in young people which prevents anti-social behaviour and encourages positive community spirit through work and rewards.
When police set up the Alcombe neighbourhood beat team, a major concern of local residents was anti-social behaviour and lack of respect among young people on the Seaward Way estate.
Police consultated with Knightstone Housing Association, the local youth service, and West Somerset’s crime and disorder reduction partnership, and a Dreamscheme was suggested, with Mrs Fitzpatrick immediately stepping forward to co-ordinate it.
Dreamscheme’s first activity was a clean-up day in October of last year, with residents encouraged to dispose of unwanted, non-recyclable items.
It proved so popular that extra skips had to be provided.
Young people supported by the local agencies helped to clear litter from the residential area as well the estate’s multi-use games area, making it available for soccer coaching by a Plymouth Argyle football coach, with a match at the end of the session as a clear example of ‘work with a reward’.
The second event was a two-day arts project with professional artist and sculptor Rick Ellam making a set while the children made puppets, provided the story, and put on a performance for their parents.
Again, it was so successful that the arts project continues to be held on Tuesday nights with children being collected by minibus driven by local beat manager PC Steve Cutler.
The youth service provides staff and a number of children from the estate attend.
The current project is to design wooden boards for the multi-use games area to help ensure its future.
Sponsorship from local businesses in the form of money and materials helps to support the project.
In January, the children held a car washing event, with equipment provided by the local fire brigade.
Later in the month, Dreamscheme children gardened on the estate, clearing beds and laying a lorry-load of mulch.
The points earned were then used in February when some of the children went to watch Plymouth Argyle play against Hull City in the Football League and despite Plymouth losing 1-0, they enjoyed their day out.
Also in February, the younger children had a swimming trip to the Quantock Lodge Pool combined with a trip to McDonalds, and later in the month many of them cleaned up leaves and litter within the multi-use games area in preparation for a half-term arts project.
After two hours, they had collected 20 bags of rubbish, earned lots of points, and made a real difference to the look of the area.
Mr Hansen said: “Debbie is the central point of contact for the young people on the estate and her role is central to the success of the project.
“It is for this, her hard work and enthusiasm, that she and the ‘team’ have been nominated.”

• Our photograph shows Debbie Fitzpatrick receiving her certificate from Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen. Photo submitted.

Smart new look for Dreamscheme community volunteers

DREAMSCHEME volunteers and young people in the Seaward Way area of Minehead will now look smarter than ever, thanks to the support of local printing firm, Porlock Print.
PCSOs Luisa Skinner and Rachel Cutler met with Porlock Print boss Gary Needs and came up with a design for a polo shirt for all volunteers and children to wear when carrying out their activities and tasks in the community.
The Dreamscheme project is planning a fun day with sports coaching and re-opening of the revamped multi-use games area at Sandpiper Close, on Friday April 18.
During the past three months, young people and volunteers have been redecorating the boards that surround the area, and with support from Magna West Somerset and Knightstone Housing Associations, West Somerset Council, and police, new lines will be painted for football and basketball, and new football goals and basketball nets will be fitted.
Funding for the Dreamscheme project has also been received from local businesses and agencies.

• Our photograph shows Gary Parker with some of the Dreamscheme volunteers. Photo submitted.

EXCLUSIVE: Outdoor market set to return to seafront site

MINEHEAD’S outdoor market looks set to make a return to the town’s seafront, following extensive talks with a local publican.
John Richardson, of the Hobby Horse Inn, on The Esplanade, has revealed to The Post how the town’s outdoor Tuesday and Thursday market is almost certain to be based at his establishment, following talks with market officials.
The news will be a big boost to local traders, who have been calling for it to be relocated nearer the main town centre shopping area.
They had complained of seeing a downturn in their business following the market’s move further out of town to Seaward Way.
Mr Richardson said: “It is 99.9 per cent certain the market will be based here, although there are few areas we still need to sort out.
“The market will be open on the same days, and the format will still be the same, although it will have to downsize a little to fit into the space.
“The gardens and outdoor areas will be used, and use will also be made of the ballroom for those things which are currently indoors.”
The outdoor market had to leave its long-standing site next to Minehead Railway Station last year to make way for a controversial industrial units development being carried out by Somerset County Council.
Mr Richardson said he was ‘only to happy to help’ when approached by market officials who looked at a number of possible sites on which to relocate the market.
He said: “The market people asked if we were interested after looking at a few places, and they thought they could make it work.
“This will be good thing not only for us, but for people all around this area who have wanted the market to move back to this end of the town.”
The move to The Esplanade is likely to take place during Whitsun week at the end of May, or possibly a week earlier in order to allow a trial run before the public holiday.
Market organiser Brian Davies was unavailable for comment as The Post went to press.

Council planners asked to approve New Horizons despite no money for it

DISTRICT councillors will be asked tomorrow, Thursday, January 31, to grant planning approval for West Somerset’s £50 million New Horizons project – even though the council has pulled its financial backing for the scheme.
New Horizons was intended to provide the district with a new hospital, sports centre and leisure facilities including a swimming pool, business support and training, and housing, including affordable homes for local people.
Now, an outline planning application will be put before tomorrow’s meeting of the council’s planning committee, with a recommendation for councillors to allow it subject to no substantive objections being received from organisations which have still to make comments.
The planning application has been submitted by the council itself in order that the principle of the development can be agreed.
But a deepening financial crisis which has hit the council since Independent councillors took control in last year’s elections has forced the authority to withdraw its £11 million share of the funding.
However, Somerset Primary Care Trust (PCT) is still looking at the possibility of going ahead with the £26 million hospital element of the scheme on its own, because almost all of the cost will be met by the Government.
Work is planned to start on the hospital during the summer of this year and it should be ready to accept patients in mid-2009.
Staff in the existing Minehead hospital recently shared their views on the design of the new community hospital.
The developers, Laing O’Rouke, met with clinical staff to discuss the design of the new facility, which is being planned on a site off Seaward Way, Minehead.
PCT project director Simon Corrick said: “We held a very successful project launch day which allowed the hospital developers, Laing O’Rouke, to meet with the staff who will be working in the new hospital.
“The meeting provided a good opportunity to allow our staff to discuss their thoughts on how the hospital should be designed and operated, and for Laing O’Rouke to introduce members of their team who will be working with us over the next two years.
“The event was very useful and enabled our staff to fully understand the process that will be followed.
“In particular, I think it provided reassurance that staff will be fully involved in the process.”
Laing O’Rouke was appointed by the PCT and will take full responsibility for all aspects of the design and construction of the new hospital.
The company has considerable experience in the development of public buildings and is presently completing a new hospital in Frome which will receive its first patients this summer.
Mr Corrick said: “This is the first part of the design process and we now face a very intensive three months which will result in a design which will be submitted for a full planning application later this year.
“In the meantime, we continue working with the other partner organisations which are collaborating on the development of the town’s New Horizons project.”
Members of the Somerset Patient and Public Involvement Forum - which is an NHS watchdog - this week expressed their concern at the district council’s withdrawal from the New Horizons project.
The forum recognised the council’s financial constraints but urged it to think again, in order to allow New Horizons to go ahead as planned.
Forum chairman Maureen Lloyd Williams said: “The shared site would foster links between all sections of the community. It will be a huge boost to the area.”

It's official - Tesco wants Aquasplash

SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has confirmed it is interested in buying the now-closed Aquasplash leisure pool in Minehead as part of a larger deal involving the town’s Vulcan Road car park site.
Following a story leaked a fortnight ago from inside cash crisis West Somerset Council, Tesco corporate affairs manager Tony Fletcher gave The Post a ‘categorical denial’ that the company had purchased the sites.
But Mr Fletcher confirmed the company had submitted proposals as part of the current consultation exercise over the future use of the Vulcan Road site.
Mr Fletcher said: “The company is awaiting feedback from the council’s consultation exercise and believes that its proposals for a larger foodstore, along with a much-needed hotel, coach parking, and further residential units, are essential to meet the future needs of both local residents and visitors to the town.
“A larger foodstore - comparable to that in Tiverton - will offer shoppers a wider range and more choice, especially of local produce and specialist foods such as organic products.
“It will also draw shoppers to Minehead from outlying areas, thus preventing them having to drive further afield to other destinations, whereas a second foodstore of comparable size to the existing one will not be able to offer such a wide variety.
“A new, larger Tesco would also act as a magnet to new shoppers and, importantly, to other new retailers as a result of the redevelopment of the existing store site for retail use.”
Mr Fletcher said Tesco looked forward to being part of the Minehead community for many years to come, irrespective of whether or not it was chosen for the Vulcan Road site.
He said: “Tesco’s existing store in Seaward Way has served Minehead for more than seven years, employing nearly 180 local people, and has played an integral part in the local community.
“During this time, the store has proved extremely popular to both local residents and visitors to the town.
“As part of our on-going process, the company is always reviewing its product range and store performance.
“The store is already handling more customers than it was designed for and thus is operating under severe constraints.
“This is confirmed in the initial feedback from a survey currently being undertaken among our customers which also suggests customers would like to see more locally-sourced and organic produce, a range of clothing, and a café.
“The full results of the Tesco survey will be published shortly.”
Council PR and media officer Stacey Beaumont said: “The council, like the public, has learned of this apparent interest through the media and has not had any contact regarding this matter from Tesco.
“In any case, we would like to point out that Aquasplash is not on the market and, with regards to Vulcan Road, no decision has been made or will be made until councillors have received and considered the consultation results.”

Half-term fun for youngsters with Minehead police and puppet theatre

POLICE in Minehead are coming together with youth workers to keep local youngsters active during the schools half-term break.
On Thursday and Friday, October 25 and October 26, Police Community Support Officers from Minehead and youth workers from the Somerset County youth service will be running an art project on the Seward Way Estate, in Alcombe.
Professional sculptor and model-maker Rick Ellam will be taking part in the project, which is called Shadow Puppet Theatre.
The aim will be to produce a play by the end of the two days.
PCSO Luisa Skinner said: “Children from all ages can attend free of charge and make characters for the play, help build the scenery, or compose a script.
“Refreshments will be provided, but we would ask children wear old clothes and ensure any under-10s come with an adult.
“Our message to all local children is to come along and enjoy the fun.”
The event will be held in the multi-use games area in Sandpiper Close between 11 am and 3 pm.
For more information contact Minehead Police Station on 0845 4567000.