Bucks Youth Summit 2023 – Access for Young People in Rural Communities
Format
The Access for Young People in Rural Communities conversation space was a facilitated table conversation in the upper circle foyer area of the Waterside theatre. It was very close to the Spaces and Places for Young People conversation space as the two topics are linked.
It was facilitated by a young person in Youth Voice with support from two Community Board managers from Bucks Council.
Young people were asked to write the area they’re from on a sticky note and add it to a jar, and to indicate how they get around by distributing counters into jars, before engaging in the big questions (see below).
About 20 young people took part in this conversation.
Themes
The conversation explored the following questions:
- Do you have less access to services, activities and events?
- What should be done to support you to grab every opportunity?
- What barriers have you faced trying to access things?
- What should adults be doing to help young people in rural communities access opportunities and services?
- What do you think a rural community is?
- Do you feel that you are able to access everything that you would like to in the community?
Young people wrote answers to these questions on a big table cloth as they spoke.
The results
You can view all of the results and comments on in the Bucks Youth Summit: Access for Young People in Rural Communities report.
View the Access in Rural Communities Report
The key messages raised were:
- Young people in rural communities feel they have less access to services, activities, and events, and the experience of growing up somewhere rural can feel isolating.
- The primary mode of transport for young people in rural communities is walking, but distance, lack of pavement, and feelings of safety are barriers.
- Young people in rural communities struggle with infrequent buses, lack of bus routes, and lack of bus stops.
- Young people in rural communities rely on lifts from parents to get around, and find traffic to be a barrier.
- Young people in rural communities feel there should be more events and opportunities within their villages, especially outdoor activities.
- Increasing awareness and advertising of opportunities in villages will enable young people in rural areas to access more
- Young people in rural communities want more high-quality space for activities and socialising – especially outdoor space.
So what?
The comments collected from young people in this conversation space and the key messages are being used to help shape Buckinghamshire’s Local Plan and Transport Plan, which will be published later in 2023.