Sadness as West Auckland youth club closes after 50 years

A CELEBRATED youth club, which has welcomed hundreds of young people for almost 50 years, is set to close its doors for the final time this month.
Having opened back in 1968, West Auckland’s Millbank Youth Club will hold its final session on Thursday, March 30. Almost 200 youngsters benefited from the club last year but funding cuts forced the management committee to call it a day.
Durham County Council will withdraw its support for the club from April. Instead, the council says, it will spend money and resources in areas of the greatest need.
Since the announcement, the community has rallied together to try to save the club. Donations poured in, including pledges from county councillors Christine Wilson and Rob Yorke, who committed a combined total of £5,000 from their neighbourhood budgets.
West Auckland Parish Council also donated £5,000. However, annual running costs for the club currently stand at around £30,000.
Club treasurer Nadine Kipling said: “It is with great sadness that we have decided to close. We went through everything again at the committee meeting but we felt that, with the sustainability of the club and the responsibilities we have under charity commissioned law, it was not possible to continue. When it is public money we are using, such as that from the councillors and the parish council, we felt that we had to make our heads rule our hearts. There were lots of tears.”
Cllr Wilson said: “I am really upset by this news but both Cllr Rob Yorke and I will be working to do what we can to help.”
A public meeting was held on February 1 in an attempt to gather more support.
A suggestion was made for people to sponsor the bricks which make up the walls of the youth club for £5 each. However, officers say this alone would not have resolved the situation.
Ms Kipling, who has been involved with the club for the past 37 years said: “We have legal commitments and we can’t allow the place to run into any sort of debt. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.
“Before Durham County Council pulled the funding we struggled to make the money we needed to keep the club going and we felt this was a step too far. We have had our ups and downs before but this is the end of an era. It will be a great miss for the young people because it was their space to meet and do the activities they wanted to do in a safe environment. The club would have been celebrating its 50th anniversary next year.”
The £5,000 donation from West Auckland Parish Council will be returned.
On behalf of the parish councillors, clerk Sharon Wootton said: “It’s a real shame and loss to the village. Nadine ran that place when I was a kid. There is nothing in the village for kids to do.”
A celebratory closing party is expected to be held on Thursday, March 30.
Ms Kipling added: “To everyone in the community, we thank them for the support they have given us, even the moral support to try to keep it going. It has meant a lot.”
Durham County Council’s head of children’s services Carole Payne said: “We are disappointed to hear of the decision of the club’s committee, as we had met them and offered support as we move to our new, more targeted service, which will see the resources we have during a time of continuing austerity directed to those children with greatest need.
“During our review and public consultation we identified over 1,000 voluntary and community sector projects across the county which provide a range of activities for young people, so we remain confident that all children will have access to leisure opportunities within their local communities.
“To support that, Cabinet in the autumn approved a proposal to allocate funding of £130,000 – which was formerly the Youth Work Support Grant – across our Area Action Partnerships from April 2017, so that they can continue to support services for young people.”