The closure of Canada Villa

Says it more eloquently than I could.


http://www.times-series.co.uk/blogs/8896567.The_Closure_of_the_Canada_Villa_Youth_Centre/?ref=mr

I wrote to Cllr's Hillan and Harper. Here's our exchange from last October. Need I say more

I feel disgusted and betrayed

----- Original Message -----

From: Harper, Cllr Andrew Conservative

To: Roger Tichborne
Cc: Gee,Lloyd; Hillan, Cllr Lynne Conservative

Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 9:53 PM

Subject: Re: Rithmyk youth music project at Canada Villa, Mill Hill

Dear Mr Tichborne,

Thank you for giving us the benefit of your views. You mention the desirability of taking a long term view and indeed, you're right. I am currently in the process of taking a long term view of youth service provision as a whole in Barnet, bearing in mind what is likely to be affordable.

Kind regards

Cllr Andrew Harper

Member for Garden Suburb Ward
Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Families
London Borough of Barnet

---

From: Roger Tichborne
To: Hillan, Cllr Lynne Conservative; Harper, Cllr Andrew Conservative
Cc: Gee, Lloyd
Sent: Thu Oct 14 19:24:41 2010
Subject: Rithmyk youth music project at Canada Villa, Mill Hill

Dear Councillors Hillan and Harper,

I am writing to you concerning the Rithmyk Youth Music project based at Canada Villa, run by Lloyd Gee of Barnet Youth Services. I have heard rumours that this facility has been targeted for funding cuts or even closure. As you may know, I run Mill Hill Music Complex, which is a music studio facility, down the road from Rithmyk. As a result of my long term involvement with the music industry in Barnet, I am writing to stress how important facilities such as Rithmyk are in engaging young people in music making activities. Many young people who couldn't afford access to commercial facilities such as my studios are able to make creative music at Rithmyk during the drop in sessions. A commercial recordings setup such as we provide costs upwarsds of £25 per hour to rent, which is totally outside the buying power of young people attracted by Rithmyk. A Mac based Logic 9 setup would cost approx £3,000 by the time all required soundcards etc are bought. For commercial facilities such as my business to thrive and prosper, it is vital that youngsters are encouraged to engage in music. We are starting to see the fruits of having the Rithmyk project locally with a 23% upsurge in recording studio bookings this year, mostly from young urban artists.

Whilst it is true that our Youth Music funded Sound Skool project also provides tuition facilities locally for young people, we cannot hope to provide anywhere near enough capacity for all of the young people in the area with our scant £30,000 funding. We are only in a position to provide training for 45 young people per year with this money and we are currently booked up, with a  huge waiting list. As such it would be a cruel abandonment of creative young people if any cuts were made to Barnet Rithmyk project or its budget.

I recently visited Lloyd Gee at the Rithmyk project and was most impressed by the facilities on offer. I believe that in the long term, it will be far more cost effective to increase the budget and service provision at Canada Villa, rather than cutting it back. Many of the young people who currently attend will have no outlet for their creative talents and some will divert their energies into drugs and crime. As the owner of a studio who helped launch the careers of Brit Award Winners Amy WInehouse and Kate Nash, both of whom have become internationally successful (delivering income to UK PLC), I can only ask that Barnet takes a long term view of funding for such projects.

Regards

Roger Tichborne