Project Taunton Extends Successful Young Champions Scheme
The Project Taunton Young Champions Programme, which launched in February, has proved so successful that it is now being extended to include sixth form students. On 11 November, over 30 volunteer students aged 12-18, from Taunton's five secondary schools and Richard Huish College, will meet to kick start this year's activity. Each of the five secondary schools have selected two new Year 8s to join the initiative, along with four students from Richard Huish College. The aim of the scheme is to help students understand the large scale regeneration planned for their town, involve them in spreading the word and include them in decisions that affect their community.
Over the last year, the Young Champions have been responsible for passing on information about the town's regeneration to their school communities, as well as giving important feedback on a wide range of issues. They played a key role in the consultation process on plans for the Castle Green area of the town, presenting their thoughts and ideas to LDA Design and the Project Taunton partners.
The team event on 11 November at Somerset County Cricket Club will be the first opportunity for the new Young Champions to meet the rest of the team and learn more about their important role. The event will include a Project Taunton update and a session with Baker Associates who are facilitating the Core Strategy (housing growth) consultation on behalf of the Borough Council. Going forward they will continue to meet the Project Taunton team each term and be given specific projects to carry out at their schools, including development of a newsletter for their peer group.
Robbie Lowes from Project Taunton is working with teachers from each of the schools to coordinate the programme. She comments: "We're absolutely delighted with the scheme's success so far and the enthusiasm that the Young Champions have shown. Extending the age group means that we can now gain invaluable feedback from young adults in the town, about their needs and how they would like to see their town take shape. They are a vital part of Taunton's future and it's wonderful to see that they are as motivated and enthusiastic about the regeneration as we are."
Mark Leeman from the Borough Council said: "Over the last year, the Young Champions have been actively involved in the regeneration plans for the town and have provided an important insight into the views of young people. They understand the importance of sustainable development and have become key advocates for this amongst their peer group. I look forward to working with both the existing and the new intake of Young Champions over the coming academic year."
Lee Porter, Assistant Head at Bishop Fox's Community School, adds, "The development plans for Taunton offer a great opportunity to engage and interest young people in regeneration. Rather than simply reading about sustainable development in a text book, our students can look at what is happening in their own community, and this has a far greater impact. The Project Taunton Young Champions Programme takes this even further by actively involving them in the process and asking them to feed what they learnt back to their peers."
As well as meeting regularly, the Young Champions are encouraged to use a dedicated, password protected area on the Project Taunton website. The area is constantly being updated and allows them to access resources, add to a calendar of events and participate in live discussion.
Recognised as a key social and economic development for the region, the regeneration of Taunton is promoted and supported by Taunton Deane Borough Council, the South West of England Regional Development Agency, Somerset County Council and the Environment Agency.
