Wolverhampton youngsters 'handed a bad deal' after some services suspended at The Way

Chiefs from the youth centre on School Street revealed on Monday there would be no evening and weekend sessions, in a blow to young people across the city.

Bosses say they hope to relaunch an improved service "as soon as possible" and have pledged to consult youngsters to put together an "exciting new programme".

But Councillor Wendy Thompson said the move represented a blow to youngsters as she questioned why a "last minute-type" of decision was made before the Easter holidays.

Councillor Thompson, leader of the Conservative Group in the city, said: "I've not seen any preparation for this at all. It's a very odd time to do it – it's holiday time, when families in particular welcome activities for youngsters.

"It seems to be a very last-minute type of decision and it's not clear actually why they've done this. We will certainly ask questions about this.

"We understand and agree that youth services are important and what we've always wanted is for them to be in neighbourhoods. We think families – and we know that's the case – want this, rather than having their young ones travelling on buses and walking across the city centre."

Councillor Thompson said she would have liked to see a range of neighbourhood youth services introduced across the city, alongside the continuation of the Way – as she called for transparency over the situation, with quarterly reports introduced to see how the centre is running.

"I think the younger people in Wolverhampton have had a bad deal, frankly," she added.

"We've seen one of the highest levels of youth unemployment in the country – they drop off when they finish school.

"And it's about time Wolverhampton appreciated its young people and this [the situation with The Way] is not a sign they are doing that. They need to get a proper policy together and ensure The Way is back up and running as quick as possible, in a responsible manner. This seems to have been a last-minute decision."

Council chiefs in the city say they are in the process of commissioning other local providers to deliver activity sessions for youngsters over the coming weeks.

Barry Fletcher, chair of The Way Youth Zone, said bosses were going to "take some time" working behind the scenes on plans to relaunch it and ensure it continues to grow and "meet the needs of our amazing young people, their families and the wider community".

Mr Fletcher added that the one-to-one mentoring programme will continue as normal, while plans are in place for a programme of drop-in sessions to support young people.

The Way opened to great fanfare in January 2016 at a time when the vast majority of youth services in Wolverhampton had closed down due to funding cuts.

It is run by Onside with financial backing from Wolverhampton Council, and was visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last year.

Mark Taylor, the council's deputy chief executive, said the authority was "working closely" with the team at The Way and Onside to help with the relaunch plans.