Revived youth club attracting crowds in North Bersted

The service in North Bersted Street is gaining in popularity after several years in the doldrums.

Neighbourhood youth worker Jason O'Hagan said he was determined to make the best of the building to provide much-needed activities for young people to enjoy.

He also wanted to ensure that the problems of the past few years in which the club's management committee barely survived were overcome.

"We do need to get a good management committee functioning," he said. "We are a long way forward than we were six months ago. There are a lot of issues we have had to pick up because the club has been dormant for a little while."

He urged Bersted parish councillors to continue their support for the club to help its resurgence.

Councillors invited him to October's meeting of their community action committee to discuss in detail how they could help. They have budgeted 1,000 annually for several years to help towards the club's running costs. But the money has stayed unspent because of uncertainty about the activities of the club.

Mr O'Hagan said he would like to see the money put with any funding he could find to enable a second youth worker to be employed to ensure the Friday night sessions for under-13s could carry on.

Their previous arrangements of being run with one paid and one volunteer supervisor were ending because the volunteer was moving on.

"We have a regular strong group of younger young people coming along then," he stated.

The club's other open night on Wednesdays had built up again to more than 12 over-13s.

"Word about the club is getting around and youngsters from Whiteways and the surrounding area are now starting to come along," said Mr O'Hagan.

The resurgence in the club should quicken with the appointment of Maria Parton as a full-time youth worker.

She will divide her hours between the North Bersted club, the Bognor Youth Club in Westloats Lane and the Felpham youth wing which she has helped to make well-established.