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Camden New Journal - By CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 27 March 2008

Eleanor Botwright

Crime rise fears as youth club loses half its funding

A YOUTH club known for its work with teenagers in Kentish Town has had its funding halved.
Eleanor Botwright, director of Castlehaven Community Association, has warned that the loss will mean a cut in staffing.
She had bid for more council funding to run Haven Youth Club, used by more than 330 young people, but saw the £52,000 annual grant slashed to £24,000.
Ms Botwright said: “I hope it’s a really bad mistake but my fear is the council will say ‘No, it’s not’.”
She warned that, without the services her youth club offers, many of the teenagers aged 13 to 19 who use the club in Castlehaven Road would be at higher risk of committing a crime.
Ms Botwright said: “My biggest fear is they’ll get into anti-social behaviour and distress residents. We are on the edge of London’s biggest drug scene.”
She added: “The kids will be devastated. These are exactly the kinds of services praised by politicians and the media. They are spending more on the rubbish collection than us.”
A council press official said: “The council’s Youth Offending and Youth and Connexions Service has an available funding pot for this financial year of £450,000. However, it received funding applications from 22 groups which in total applied for £937,631 – nearly half a million pounds more than was available.
“It is always extremely difficult deciding which groups receive funding and how much each group receives. This has become increasingly more difficult due to the national drive for increased accountability in youth services.”

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