Bovey Tracey council allocates £16k in public funds to community groups and youth support

Nearly £16,000 of tax payers' money is being reinvested into Bovey Tracey community projects after the town council approved a series of grants to local organisations.

The largest award, of £7,000, will go to Bovey Tracey Youth Action to support its Youth Café, where the number of young people attending has been steadily increasing.

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Councillors heard demand for the service is growing at a time when wider support for youth provision has declined.

Speaking to the council’s Finance, Resources and General Purposes Committee, Youth Action operations manager Jez Butcher said the charity had been expanding its offer as more young people look for somewhere safe to spend time and talk about problems.

The Youth Café currently opens twice a week but hopes to increase to three evenings, with sessions regularly attracting between 25 and 40 young people.

Mr Butcher told councillors that many of those attending are struggling with issues including bullying and the growing availability of ‘weed vapes’, which he said can contain potentially toxic substances.

“It’s a massive issue,” he said. “There is no other youth service of this kind. The young people of Bovey Tracey and Heathfield deserve somewhere they can come and get support.”

The meeting also heard that an increasing number of children locally are either not receiving the right type of education or have left the school system entirely.

Other grants approved by the Bovey Tracey committee include:

• £5,363 for Teignbridge Citizens Advice,
• £1,500 for Moorland Community Caring - supporting projects such as the Older People’s Hub at the Methodist Hall, 
• £1,028 for Bovey Tracey Information Centre,
• £940 for Better Places CIC - a service that provides free holiday activities for children.

The awards were approved at a meeting held at the Riverside Centre on Monday (2 March).

Committee chair Corin Burton said the grants were an important way for the town council to reinvest taxpayers’ money locally.

“As a town council we are entrusted to use taxpayers’ money wisely and we feel these awards are an essential investment in our community,” he said.

“We’re grateful to have groups like these working on behalf of residents across Bovey Tracey.”