Youth work in Wolvercote and Cutteslowe is under threat. Because of the cuts, the Oxford County Council Youth Service will no longer be able to fund Wolvercote Young People’s Club from sometime in the summer/autumn onwards. Funding for youth work in Cutteslowe is also in doubt. What would happen to the WYPC building isn’t clear. The site was given to the people of Wolvercote for youth work 70 years ago, but it is now owned by the County Council. They want a partnership of local organizations to emerge to take on the running of the building and the provision of youth work. If that doesn’t happen, we fear that the site could be moth-balled or eventually sold. Ending or reducing youth work in the area would be a huge mistake both for the young people and the local community. We believe that in the long run the savings made will be more than wiped out by the extra pressure on police and health budgets. But this cuts no ice with the County Council in the current financial climate. So it’s up to the local community to come up with a way to keep youth work going in Wolvercote and Cutteslowe. The WYPC committee has been meeting with local councillors, County Council officers and others to discuss what we can do. The way forward seems to be to put together a local partnership to run the WYPC building and provide youth work. This is a huge task – it costs £100,000 per year to run the building and provide the current levels of youth work. The WYPC committee can’t do this on our own. We need your help, including: • offers of partner organizations interested in sharing the WYPC building • people to help put together a local partnership bid to County Council • lots of people to show local support for youth work in Wolvercote and Cutteslowe (by writing letters/signing a petition at the meeting below. • signing this online petition To take all this forward, we have arranged a PUBLIC MEETING at Wolvercote Young People’s Club at 7.30pm on Tuesday 22nd March Please come to show your support and help save WYPC and youth work in this area.

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