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Anger at Lib Dem youth cash claims
Community association slams party newsletter after huge cuts to services in past two years
PARTY political posturing over funding for vital youth services has angered supporters of the largest community association in Camden Town.
The Castlehaven Community Association are incensed that Lib Dems newsletter Focus carries the headline “More money for local youth services” next to a picture of their community centre – even though its budget from the council for youth activities has been cut by 46 per cent in the past two years.
A small increase in funding this year appears to be the justification behind the leaflet’s claims, but it makes no mention of a 52 per cent overall cut to youth services in 2008.
Clarence Way estate campaigner Silla Carron, who has made national headlines for her work with young people in Camden Town, said: “The community centre is a real connection in this community, but they’ve cut it and left people like myself and its supporters to go literally begging for money to keep it going. Now they come back at election time and try to take a pat on the back. It is typical election time crap, and I’m really angry.”
The director of the Castlehaven Community Association Eleanor Botwright said: “It doesn’t make sense to me to claim there is more money for youth services when over two years they have actually cut our budget by half. It misguides people on what the truth is. It looks as if we are receiving big budgets when we are not.”
Castlehaven’s directors have kept youth activities open five times a week despite the 2008 cuts by raising cash from businesses, including the Camden Crawl, and from One Housing Group Association.
Ms Botwright said: “This is the fourth most deprived area in the country, and it is young people who are at risk of losing out.”
The Lib Dems have form at Castlehaven, according to their critics. Last August, when the centre was still reeling from the 52 per cent cut to its youth budgets, MP Chris Huhne used the centre to launch a Lib Dem pledge to slash youth crime.
And the campaigning literature of the Lib Dems has drawn fire already in the past six weeks over claims about funding for youth facilities. In August, residents in Camden Town’s Maiden Lane estate received leaflets from their Lib Dem councillors headed “Save Maiden Lane Community Centre”. It made no mention of the fact that cuts to the centre’s funding had been made by Lib Dem finance chiefs at the Town Hall.
On Tuesday, Camden Town ward councillor and borough housing chief Chris Naylor from the Lib Dems stood by the leaflet’s claims.
“We are merely trying to show our support for the Castlehaven, which is a very good organisation,” he said. “This isn’t trying to make a comparison going back over time. I wish we were providing even more money for the centre but I’m glad we’ve made some progress in increasing budgets above last year.” |
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