We are saddened to announce that due to insurmountable financial changes by Nottingham City Council, we are looking at potentially relocating the charity to another location in the city.
Base 51 have been running youth services from NGY since 2012; NGY is owned by the City Council having been successful in securing funding from a fund called the ‘MyPlace’ programme. The programme was launched 2008 when the Government awarded grants of between £1 million and £5 million to Councils for the development of world-class youth centres in some of the most deprived areas of England – Nottingham City Council was able to purchase the building with the grant, and agreed to lease it us to run services from for 20 years, Base 51 as a partner throughout the process took on the position of lead provider.
Over the last few years our funding has been consistently cut by the Council, but the final blow came in 2022 when our funding was stopped completely, leaving potentially thousands of vulnerable young people at risk.
Our team have worked exceptionally hard over the last year to bring in grants and corporate supporters to ensure the future of our work with 11-25 year olds in the city and county. We started 2023 in a strong position, however at the end of January we received the distressing news that the Council may be going back on their assurances from May 2022 that we could access £150,000 of our ‘sinking fund’ (funds put aside by us to maintain the building) to cover the increasing building bills and upkeep, leaving us once again in an exceptionally difficult position at a time where more young people are suffering due to the cost of living crisis.
Due to these financial changes we may have to make changes to our Universal Provision, which includes our Youth Club. The Youth Club currently runs Monday, Thursday and Friday and provides a safe place for young people to come after school and to receive a hot meal (many do not receive enough, if any, food at home). Without our Youth Club those young people will be forced to hang out on the streets, where they are exceptionally vulnerable to crime, exploitation and violence. As a charity that works hard to protect young people, this is a bleak thought.
We need YOUR support to help keep our Youth Club open, we’re looking to raise £80,000 and every penny donated will make a difference.
We will be continuing to offer counselling, our Evolution Plus project which supports people affected by serious violence, Outburst our LGBTQIA+ programme and our Safe Space programme for those affected by exploitation, modern slavery and human trafficking.
We are incredibly grateful for all the support that we’ve received over the last year. We once again will be looking for individuals, companies and communities to come together to support us with the challenges we’ll face, we know that together we can continue to provide the support that vulnerable young people in the City and County deserve. Base 51 might change, but we’re always going to be fight hard to be here for those who need us.