YOUNG people in south Wiltshire have expressed grave concerns about proposed youth services cuts and have come up with their own ideas, which they presented to a meeting last week.

As part of the council’s budget, £190,000 is due to be cut from youth services.

And 20 teenagers from the South West Wiltshire Youth Advisory Group attended a meeting of the South West Wiltshire Area Board held in Mere on Wednesday to voice their concerns about options being considered by Wiltshire Council for “redesigning” the service it provides.

The council is looking at four options: retaining the current in-house service but reducing costs; outsourcing the service; creating a public service mutual; or developing a community- led approach.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Laura Mayes said creating a public service mutual wouldn’t be possible as no members of staff have expressed an interest, and that the council’s preferred option was a community-led approach.

She said: “Each area would be given their budget and it would be up to councillors, members of the community and, particularly, young people, to discuss how best to use the budget so it best meets the needs of the community.”

But young people and their parents fear that while outsourcing the service would guarantee provision, the focus would be on making a profit and not the needs of the young people.

They fear a community-led option could involve trusted youth workers losing their jobs and variations in provision across the county.

The teenagers proposed a fifth “perfect option”, combining a community-led approach with retaining an in-house service.

They suggested the council pays for the running costs of youth clubs for a few nights a week for a fixed amount of time, as well as transport, while other upkeep including window cleaning and grounds work could be completed by the youths.

The cuts were originally set to be £500,000, then £250,000 but this has now been reduced to £190,000.

A ten-week consultation began on January 31 and is ongoing, with a final report due to go to the council’s Cabinet on May 15.