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Raquib Islam (right), Amir Miah and Parvin Aktar outside the Surma Centre near Regent’s Park |
Funding bid turned down flat
Bicycle maintenance hopes punctured as Town Hall says no to tiny grant
PENNY-PINCHERS at the Town Hall have turned down a request to fund a bike maintenance project in Regent’s Park estate, claiming “it was not clear how the community would benefit”.
Raquib Islam and Amir Miah, both 14, came up with a not-for-profit plan to rent a space, buy some spare parts, and hire a bike specialist to teach teenagers bike fixing skills.
The South Camden Community School pupils, who were helping organise the Camden Unity Cup football tournament on Tuesday, applied for £5,000 from the council’s annual £290,000 Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF). The project had the backing of Camden police, who had offered up dozens of impounded bikes held in the Albany Street Police Station on the condition the boys fixed them up and gave them out for free to deserving cases from the area.
Raquib said: “I was really excited, watching summer coming on and come thinking I’m going to learn some new skills. And then I get a letter saying: ‘Denied’. I was like ‘What?’”
He added: “The community would benefit because people would learn how to fix their bikes and it would help the environment and health because people wouldn’t be getting public transport.”
Amir added: “We’re not doing this for money, we want qualifications that can go on my CV.”
The boys, who have appealed the decision, got the idea after attending a similar bike fix-up day in Holborn.
Youth workers in the Surma Centre, which has been given awards for its use of the YOF, say they are stumped by the council’s rejection.
Parvin Aktar, 23, said: “We often apply to YOF and there had been a lot of interest in this scheme. So it came as a real shock. They had seemed really interested up until now so we don’t really know why they would reject it.”
The Town Hall said their had been an unusual surge in applications this year.
A spokeswoman for Camden Council said funding applicants who had been turned down were welcome to resubmit bids in another round, adding: “The aim of the YOF is to fund those projects that will benefit the widest disadvantaged groups of young people or that will have the most demonstrable impact.”
“Those that are turned down on their first application should not be disheartened and are welcome to resubmit their bids for possible funding in another round.”
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