Vital youth wing left out of Bognor college plans

County councillor Simon McDougall said the shortfall in finance for the college could mean the present youth wing being scrapped.

The government has given 36m to pay for the new building. But county council education officials claim it is not enough to include a multi-purpose building on the new campus for youth and early years provision.

Such a facility would cost some 750,000 but the county council only has 350,000 available.

The shortfall comes as the council moves closer to starting building work on the major scheme.

It has submitted a planning application for a 1,800-place college to replace the upper and lower school at either end of the split site campus off Westloats Lane.

The current youth wing, off South Way, is intended to be demolished as soon as October, if the application is approved, as part of the initial works to make way for the new college.

"I am deeply concerned that the county council is taking its time to make temporary and secure long-term provision for both youth and early years learning," stated Cllr McDougall.

"The youth wing has an average attendance of 600-plus youths a month. On a Friday evening, this can be as high as 130 youths.

"They are clearly enjoying the environment provided for them and not roaming the streets and drawing the attention of the police. This is a success and needs to continue.

"There is also a young mothers' group that meets weekly to address their needs and the excellent Bridge project in the youth wing building. This deals with young people on the verge of exclusion."

The lack of a youth wing would hinder efforts to help Pevensey, where the college is sited, overcome its unwanted status as one of the most deprived areas of West Sussex, Cllr McDougall added.

His comments reflect his frustration at being unable to secure funding for the youth wing at private meetings.

He has raised the matter at several meetings in the past six months with county council officials and local youth workers.

He said he was amazed to attend his last meeting about the college only to be told about the continued lack of money with no guarantee about a temporary solution to keep the youth wing going.

A county council spokeswoman said the college's youth services were currently provided in surplus school buildings. The government's funding made no allowance for such services.

"What we are trying to achieve, however, is a new youth wing," she stated. "This would be a completely new development for the campus, separate from the school.

"We are actively pursuing opportunities for funding and are hopeful that we will be successful. However, we can't make any promises at this stage."

In the meantime, she added, temporary arrangements were being considered to enable the youth service to continue in other buildings.

The complete rebuilding of the college, with the replacement set to open in September 2010, is just part of a complete updating of education services on the site.

The county council is also paying 9m to create a school to replace The Glade infant and Michael Ayres junior schools.