IT was reported last week that 24 youth services operating in Wiltshire were under threat as Wiltshire Council looks to make cuts.

Bass Connection isn’t directly under threat. It’s scheduled to move to the new campus to be built at Five Rivers Leisure Centre, but young people are worried about how it will be run and if there will be enough youth workers. They want to let people know about the positive impact it has had on their lives.

A petition has been put together by Glynn Root to save the services, and a video made by Rich Abram and Jon Scammell has hit the internet showing how positively Bass Connection has changed young people’s lives. See it at youtube.com/watch?v=AZLj BWomvFI.

Emma Hughes

Bass Connection was one of the fundamental stepping stones into my musical career.

When I was a teenager Bass Connection and the staff there helped me develop my musical ability and musicianship by allowing my bands to create music and rehearse in a safe and encouraging environment.

Not only did it give teenagers a space to be creative but it also gave us opportunities to get out in the real music world by putting on gigs.

I am now a session musician playing for a Brit Award-winning artist as well as being part of the education guidance team at the Academy of Contemporary Music.

I always look back with the most amazing memories of Bass Connection and I am so grateful to the wonderful support workers who have been there for me.

Nicola Abram

I spent some time at Bass Connection in the early 2000s, designing, writing and producing a magazine called The Mag with a school friend while we were studying for our A-levels.

On a practical level, the IT facilities and direct contact with bands at Grosvenor House really did make this achievement possible.

Projects like these make a real difference to young people’s lives.

Russ Parsons

For me, Bass Connection provided the tools to nurture my interest in music and provided me with access to other like-minded individuals, many of whom I am still friends with and a few that I now work with, 15 years on. The staff we're encouraging and inspiring; everything about it felt like a second home.

I am where I am today, with my own business and providing an income for others, because of the fantastic people at Bass Connection. It's not just a place for bands to rehearse, it's a social space like nothing I have ever experienced; a family in which people care for each other - music is just the catalyst.


Geoff Swan

Bass connection was the spring board for my adult life. It had a dramatic influence on me as a teenager.

I learned a great deal about working with others and developed communication skills that have served me well in my career.

On a more personal note the centre's staff provided me confidence, support and, most importantly, the self belief that with direction and hard work I could achieve the things I wanted to. Projects like these make a real difference to young people's lives, myself and many other are testament to that fact.