A NEW way of providing youth services has been agreed by Northamptonshire County Council.

The decision follows consultation meetings with young people and parents after opposition last year to proposals to close youth centres including Dillons Club in Brackley.

The Dillons Friday Club caters for disabled young people, and was threatened with closure in January this year, but parents, carers, and users organised petitions and protests to support the facility forcing the council to rethink it proposals.

The council now plans to deliver some services itself, and commission-out other services to voluntary and partner organisations.

A working party is being set up to manage the direct delivery and increase the capacity in the voluntary and partner organisations.

The measures aim to tackle what Ofsted described as very low attendance figures after an inspection in May 2003 showed that just five per cent of the county's 13- to 19-year-olds used the youth services provided then.

The inspection also said that the provision of youth work in Northamptonshire was unsatisfactory and was poor value for money The council's executive member for children and young people, Joan Kirkbride, said: "We are going to change the way services to young people are delivered in this county.

"We want to see more young people reached through better activities run locally at a higher quality than ever before.

"We have had comments on these plans from hundreds of people and organisations, and have used their feedback in drawing up our proposals.

"Most importantly, we are ensuring that young people are at the heart of this change so that we are able to understand what services they want, where they are needed, and how best to provide them.

"We are trying to meet the council's new target of attracting 15 per cent of teenagers to its youth activities."

The council said the Dillons Club was one of a number being given priority consideration.