Gazette Comment (From Gazette Series)

Gazette Comment

IF all the young people in Dursley were asked to name amenities they would like to have, they would probably come up with a list as long as the M5.

Cinema, ten-pin bowling alley, modern music venue, ice rink, well known high street shops, amusement arcade, internet caf, leisure centre would be among them.

There is not a lot going for the town's young people so the last thing that needs to happen is for them to lose their youth centre. While it will not be every youngster's idea of fun, the centre does much good work and its loss would be widely felt.

Equally, if the group had to move into an inferior home, it would not be able to carry on as it does now. Most likely there will be several existing sites touted as available for youth work but it is even more likely that they will prove to be ill-equipped.

Maybe some bright spark from a council think-tank will come up with the idea of calling it a new youth centre but young people are not stupid and would see right through such a smokescreen. As wise old Northern mothers say: "It'll be like getting a bunch of grapes with none on."

The centre is important and must not be cast aside to suit the needs of people no more important than the people who use it. Everv since the supermarket saga began the future of the centre questioned. Who has been doing anything about it until now?