A NEW councillor for Carnforth has promised to fight for £100,000 to set up a youth and community centre for bored youngsters in the town.

Paul Gardner, voted onto Lancaster City Council in elections earlier this month, said one of his first priorities was to get the council to re-pledge the £100,000 it had already promised for a Youth and Community Centre in Carnforth.

Mr Gardner explained that £100,000 for the project was promised by the city council when Labour was last in power some four years ago. When Labour lost its majority, however, the pledge "appeared to get lost," said Mr Gardner.

But the balance of power has shifted again and a coalition of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party councillors now controls the purse strings.

Paul Gardner said he and fellow Labour Carnforth councillor Edna Jones on Lancaster City Council will now work to find out where the money has gone and get it back.

"We are trying to find out where the pledge of £100,000 disappeared to and to get the council to make it available again," he said.

"We really need it in this area because the facilities for youngsters in Carnforth are just not there.

"If we are going to address the whole issue of anti-social behaviour associated with young people then we are going to have offer them something - its no good just telling them they cannot walk the streets or hang around this doorway when they have nowhere to go."

Mr Gardner said getting the city council to re-make its pledge could help to unlock funding from the county council and other bodies and give the community the chance to make a start working out what sort of facility it wants.

May 29, 2003 15:30