£5,000 boost for Under the Bridge youth project

The award-winning project is run jointly by the Port of Milford Haven and Milford Youth Matters, which had asked the town council for £8,690.

At a meeting of the town council on January 9, councillors were supportive of the project but agreed to give only part of what was being requested.

Some councillors were concerned that if only part of the funding was given, some aspects of the project may not go ahead.

Cllr Guy Woodham said: “This is a new grant application, but I am concerned about the large sum of money.

“It is a very good project and the town council has been asked to provide 100 per cent funding.”

Cllr Lynne Turner added: “This is a fantastic project. There has been a rise in the provision for young people. This is a seriously valuable asset.”

Cllr Rhys Sinnett said: “The mood is very positive towards this project. The question is to what degree do we support it. If we were to give a proportion some things they want to do may not go ahead.

“I suggest we should fund it entirely.”

Cllr Naomi Joseph added: “If we were to give half or £5,000 and this didn’t go ahead it would be a real shame. We could fund it fully this year but add that it would be not automatic for next year.”

Cllr Alun Byrne said the donation would ‘go down well’ in the community.

Anna Malloy, Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Manager at the Port of Milford Haven, said: “Under the Bridge is an award winning project that we are very proud of. We have worked collaboratively with Milford Youth Matters on this project for four years and the feedback we’ve received from the young people who have attended is always really positive.

“We are looking forward to running it again in 2020. It’s great that we now have Milford Haven Town Council on board as partners as this will allow the project to be expanded, offering more opportunities for our young people to engage in positive activities during both Spring and Autumn half term holidays as well as the usual summer period.”