A drive to 'engage and encourage' young people in a bid to tackle antisocial behaviour in Farncombe and Godalming is taking off again now lockdown restrictions have eased.

The Trinity Trust Team, which sends volunteers out onto the streets to engage with youngsters, has recruited extra help in the form of local people who have stepped forward to offer their support. It is hoped those teams will be able to start work by the end of this month.

The Trinity Trust team has been sending out small groups of volunteers for the last six years to speak to youngsters in 'problem' areas in an effort to tackle antisocial behaviour, noise and littering.

Plans to engage the youngsters in activities at venues including Godalming Leisure Centre have had to be put on hold, but community co-ordinator Andy Poulsom says he is hopeful that the activities can start soon.

The team became involved after a meeting at St John's Church last September, called to address complaints about a spike in antisocial behaviour in Farncombe. The issue was particularly acute around the station, where British Transport police had been drafted in after commuters were verbally abused, and around St John's Church.

The forum was established by Surrey Police, Godalming Town Council and residents keen to find a solution to the issue.

At that meeting, which was attended by around 300 people, several residents stepped forward to offer their support for a new Farncombe Community Team to support the Trinity Trust Team in its work. The plan was put on hold by Covid, but now Mr Poulsom says it is now time to put it into action.

Co-operation.

Godalming Mayor Penny Rivers, who chaired the original meeting, told Nub News that the focus was not on apportioning blame, but instead on working together as a community to address the issues. "Together we can do so much more for our community," she said. "This is very much a co-operation between churches, council, police and volunteers." The Trinity Trust Team has been working with young people in Godalming for 20 years. Mr Poulsom told Nub News the outreach work was not about stigmatising young people, but working with them to solve problems both actual and perceived. "We go into local schools and communities," he said. "We have been a strong and consistent presence in the lives of young people for 20 years." In 2014 the trust was asked to work with young people who were hanging around St John's Church. "The church would invite them in and offer them a warm place to be," he said. "They asked if we would do something about engaging with the young people. So we started an outreach team, and since 2014 we have been working with the young poeple where they are at: on street corners, and train stations, trying to encourage them and support them with information about minimising noise and litter and socialising in large groups in built-up areas." The trust ran a small community centre in the former Baptist Church next to The Freeholders in St John's Street, but that was closed down when the building was sold. "It was a good place to get young people back to to have a hot chocolate and dry out," said Mr Poulsom. "So many youth centres have closed down." Wide area.

Since the end of lockdown volunteers have been out on the streets three nights a week.

The team don't just cover Farncombe: they go into Aarons Hill, to Milford, and into Godalming town centre. There are four or five members of the team out on a Friday night.

The group also runs a youth cafe at Loseley Fields Children's Centre on Monday nights.

Mr Poulsom says the desire is still there among local residents to tackle the issues raised by young people gathering in large groups and the impact their behaviour has on the community.

"At the meeting we invited residents to be part of something to try and have a positive impact on the community they were so concerned about. People stepped forward to join the community outreach team, with the support of [Surrey Police officer] Clare Sutherland from the specialist neighbourhood support team.

"We sat down with these new volunteers and began to shape what the community team could offer. The decision was that this would always be a community-run project: the Farncombe Community Team.

"We would be engaging with young people and working in collaboration, and seeing what we could do to have a positive impact and encourage young people to make more positive use of their time. The Trinity Trust Team were planning to do some training to support the outreach team.

"They would be going out on patrol to encourage the young people and signpost them to a whole range of activities, two or three nights a week, or however often they could."

Activities.

The plans were to run at least one activity a week that was either free or accessible for the young people. In addition to the youth cafe on Mondays, other activities included two Boxfit sessions at Godalming Baptist Church, a motorbike mechanics project, and activities for young people in Cranleigh on Friday nights and at Godalming Leisure Centre on Saturday nights. Sadly, Covid has put most of those on hold for the time being, but Mr Poulsom says the residents who volunteered should be out on the streets by the end of the month. The Trinity Trust team will be involved in the training and induction for the street outreach programme. "It's very much the plan that once we get back to normal we can then arrange all the other activities," Mr Poulsom said. He added: "This is not about vigilantes coming down heavily on young people. The vast majority of young people in Godalming and surrounding area are very well behaved. "This is to remind them of the impact some of their behaviour can have on the community and the population around them. Young people can be intimidating to passers-by. We want to try and support and engage young people and encourage them to make good decisions with regards to the time they are spending." Godalming Town Council is also working to address the issue, and plans for a youth drop-in centre on the edge of Broadwater Park are also under discussion. Anyone who would like to join the community outreach team is asked to get in touch with Andy via email.