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'WE'LL PAY A PENALTY FOR SHORT CUTS'
Axing youth football league ‘will lead to more crime’
CUTS to sports funding will lead to obesity and crime among the borough’s young, youth leaders have warned.
The Town Hall confirmed this week that they are reducing the number of full-time sports officers, who organise competitions and clubs for thousands of young people across Camden.
The decision threatens the popular Saturday Regent’s Park football league which has 125 teams and is used by more than 1,400 young players every week. Other cuts include the loss of a successful Saturday basketball club based at the Talacre Sports Centre and summer holiday football sessions.
The officers go into schools and youth clubs as well as organising the weekly league and it is believed the cuts will save around £30,000 a year. Youth workers, councillors and parents have praised the role the league has played in thousands of young people’s lives since it was established in 2000.
Ash Rahman, who runs a football project in King’s Cross, said the knock-on effect of the cutbacks would make them a false economy.
He said: “By saving such a small amount of money, you are losing a great project that engages with young people on a weekly basis. There is a good chance some of them might divert their energy into other activities which may be anti-social.
“The sports development officers help young people build confidence, get healthy, and interact with each other. This is a tragedy.”
Labour group leader Councillor Nas Ali accused the Lib-Dem and Tory coalition of not understanding the work done by the officers.
He said: “This is mean. The council budget reserves are huge, and we are not talking a lot of money.”
A council spokesman said: “We carried out a review of the service and a number of posts have been deleted and others redesigned. We are confident our new, restructured service will continue this work.”
Other sports services face cuts – South Hampstead Football Club were told holiday training schools will not be paid for, while Saturday basketball sessions at Kentish Town’s Talacre centre are to be scrapped.
Leisure chief Lib-Dem councillor Flick Rea said the basketball club had been paid for by a Community Sports Fund. Once it ran out, there was little the Town Hall could do.
She said: “We said we would do our best to pick it up where there was a hole, but we cannot take on each sports club when funding runs out.” |
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