Reimagining and redeveloping The Courts Imagine a place where a young person’s background, race, beliefs, gender, physical ability and economic status had nothing to do with how good they could be, what they could achieve. A space where they could fully explore their creative potential, receive support and mentoring, and find meaningful work. That place is the Old Bristol Magistrates Courts (The Courts). An enterprise centre to help young people set up their own creative businesses and develop their opportunities. A place where there are no barriers to their future, where the only things that count are their abilities and talents. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund and Bristol City Council we are developing detailed business and architectural plans to reimagine and redevelop this historic city landmark as a place that will complement Bristol’s renowned and growing creative industries sector. To get involved and keep up to date with our progress, sign up to our newsletter. About us Blog Barton Hill Youth & Community Consultation Report In September, we commissioned Noble Development Consultancy (through Jendayi Serwah) to carry out a youth and community consultation in Barton Hill. We have been looking at developing work in the area, as part of our Youth Investment Fund (YIF) programme, supported by the Big Lottery Fund and the DCMS. This piece of work is crucial in order to make sure we meet the needs of the local community. Find out what young people in Barton Hill think about youth services in the area: SPEAK UP! SPEAK OUT! : BARTON HILL VOICES (for young people) from Firstborn Studios on Vimeo. Who did we consult? 128 young people completed questionnaires 155 young people were engaged in total through questionnaires and events 26 adults completed questionnaires 51 adults engaged in total 16 organisations consulted How did we reach out in the community? We engaged the local community through events, meetings, questionnaires and group work. We held a Mums and Daughters Event at Barton Hill Settlement. We also engaged Year 6 Pupils at Barton Hill Academy and organised an open access event, Speak Up, Speak Out, in December. Main findings The key issues that both young people and adults talked to us about were: concerns about anti-social behaviour there is a desire for more opportunities for young people to explore and broaden their horizons beyond Barton Hill girls work needs more attention girls and boys work around positive attitudes, language and interactions are needed people would like more activities at weekends and during school holidays Recommendations *Girls work for older mid teen girls is in need of attention or expansion as there is a significant feeling by women and young girls that they are marginalised. *Gender based work is needed to tackle a growing lack of respect of girls by boys and to some extent girls who do not have a positive self-image. *Youth work, activities at weekends and school holidays are in short supply but there is a need. Resources that attempt to fill these gaps would be most welcomed alongside opportunities for young people to experience life outside the area and/or the city. Current open access activities are mainly provided in open spaces. Consideration should be given to having an indoor open access provision. *There is wide consensus that young people want/need to travel out the area. This was also the view of many organisations that horizons need to be widened. Organisations should meet to discuss how they can collaborate on this to enable young people in the area to leave the city or area at least once a year. *A collaborative community repair/enrichment project would be a great way to bring people together and at the same time enhance some aspects of the area aesthetically. This has also been mooted within a recent Gaunts Ham Park stakeholders meeting. * A round table meeting of all providers, big or small, at least twice a year would go a long way in terms of laying foundations for joint work and more strategic partnership working, both on the ground and bidding together for resources *Establish a Youth Steering Group to monitor the implementation of recommendations The steering group should have a scrutiny function and the young people need to be supported to develop leadership skills in this respect. This may work best as a collaborative initiative between providers in the area. Read the full report We'd like to thank Jendayi Serwah for her excellent work. This project is made possible by the Big Lottery Fund and the DCMS through the Youth Investment Fund.