YHAgroup.org.uk

As we weather some of the warmest weather of the year so far, what could be more natural than to start thinking about Christmas? Well, that’s what they’re doing at the Court Hill Centre - the bunkhouse known as The Ridgeway Youth Hostel before breaking with the YHA last year:

The Court Hill Centre is pleased to offer affiliate groups a special club Christmas Dinner package. Christmas Dinner, bed and breakfast can be yours for just £27.70 pp. Book for a group of 30 and we’ll give you sole use. AND we are not licensed so you can bring your own wine!

The opportunity to bring your own booze is certainly an advantage over, ahem, certain budget accommodation providers we might mention…

Twelve groups took part in the 2007 President’s Awards and the judges were pleased to see a high standard of entries again.

The President’s Awards were introduced in 1985 to recognise the work that local groups do for the YHA and 2007 was the twenty-third year of the awards.

Three-quarters of the eight categories have been won by a different group from last year, and as usual each of the categories will be presented before moving on to the overall results.

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Coldingham Sands YH, one of the seven earmaked for closure by the SYHA last year, could be saved if the local community have their way. According to a report in the Berwickshire News, the sale of the hostel has been suspended whilst local people attempt a buy-out under Community Right to Buy legislation. Residents have 21 days to convince Scottish ministers of their case.

If given the go-ahead, they’ll then have about six months to fully develop their business case and raise the necessary funding. Either way, the hostel will be closed for the 2008 season.

Leading the new community company is Ged Hearn, who already has big plans:

The hostel is already heavily used in summer and we know that with careful adaptation its use can be extended throughout the year […] The plan is to run it as a hostel and we hope to affiliate to the YHA and advertise with them.

Mr Hearn doesn’t have to look far across the border for inspiration. Both Wooler and Greenhead are thriving under private ownership after having been written off by the YHA. Let’s see if Coldingham can follow suit.

Independent hostelling website Hostelworld announced the winners of their annual “Hoscar” awards in a ceremony held in Dublin last week. Based on the votes of visitors to their site, these awards pick out the best of the more than 15,000 hostels that they list.

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YHA announced today a £13.5 million spending plan for hostels across the country.

Work is already nearing completion on improvements to eleven hostels, including Manchester, St Pancras and Pwll Deri, whilst next month will see the opening of a new £4.3 million hostel in central London. Brand new hostels are scheduled to open next year in Eastbourne and Lewes.

A wide range of improvements will be made to hostels across the country:

Major schemes approved include a £2million revamp at YHA Ilam in the Peak District, £1million at YHA Bristol and almost another £1million to be spent at YHA Pen y Pass, in Snowdonia.

There will be £820,000 spent at YHA Penzance, in Cornwall, nearly £730,000 at YHA Conwy, in north Wales and £600,000 at YHA Ambleside in the Lake District.

YHA St David’s, in South Wales, YHA Grinton, in North Yorkshire, YHA Treyarnon Bay, in Cornwall, YHA Windermere, in the Lake District and YHA Exeter, in Devon, will each benefit from improvement projects costing around £½ million.

While schemes in excess of £250,000 are scheduled for YHA Arundel, in Sussex, YHA Coalport, in Shropshire, YHA Coverack, in Cornwall, YHA Haworth, in West Yorkshire, YHA Port Eynon, in South Wales, YHA Salcombe, in Devon and YHA St Briavel’s Castle, in Gloucesterhire.

A total of 37 building improvement schemes have been approved for this year, with a further 77 to follow over the next two years.

The announcement does include some bad news too: the hostels at Bangor, Great Yarmouth and Slimbridge will close at the end of the year.

Coming pretty much on the second anniversary of the announcement of the closure of 39 hostels, it’s nice to be able to report (mostly) good news coming from Matlock this time!

A new youth hostel has opened in the welsh town of Abergavenny. According to the South Wales Argus it’s the first YHA hostel to open in Gwent. If true, that’s a most surprising fact - given the (former) county encompasses the eastern edge of the Brecons and the lower reaches of the Wye valley. Surely there used to be a hostel in Chepstow?

Maybe they mean it’s the first affiliated hostel, rather than a fully in-house YHA one. The hostel’s been hosting school parties for thirty years under the name of the Mulberry House Environmental Studies Centre. A deal with the YHA has made it available to the rest of us.

First in the county or not, Abergavenny’s a great place for a hostel. Good road and rail links make it relatively easy to get to, and the town is surrounded with mountains and other things to do. The opening of this hostel also goes some way to make up for the closing of nearby (but next county!) Capel-y-Ffin last year.

You can find out more about Abergavenny YH on the YHA’s hostel page or from the Mulberry House website.

John Annett, Chair of YHA Southern Regional Council and stalwart of Croydon Local Group and of groups generally, has fallen seriously ill whilst travelling in Africa. He is currently in a coma and arrangements are being put in place to fly him home.

I know that everybody in the movement who knows John will be thinking of him and his family at this time, and wishing him a speedy recovery.

The 2008 Local Groups’ Conference has been announced under the somewhat Tolkeinesque title of The Last Gathering. There is a real fear that this could be the last time groups are able to come together in this way, unless they make a concerted effort to support it. As well as providing a useful forum to discuss issues of interest to affiliated groups, it’s also a chance to find out what other groups are doing and pick up ideas for your own group.

The conference will take place on the weekend of 12th-13th April 2008 in Bradwell Village Hall, which is situated opposite Milton Keynes Youth Hostel (see map below). Whilst Milton Keynes might not be everybody’s idea of a “proper” youth hostel location, it’s easy to get to by car or public transport which should help attract more delegates.

Each Group is entitled to send up to two delegates, and will need to complete and send in a booking form by 8th February in order to comply with YHA’s booking conditions. Unfortunately no funding is available from YHA for delegates’ expenses, but a number of booking options are available depending on what meals and accommodation are required.

The conference will include a number of presentations and workshops, the election of delegates to the YHA’s AGM, the presentation of prizes to this year’s President’s Awards winners, and the chance to discuss any motions presented to the conference. If any groups wish to table a motion, the deadline for doing so is 21st March 2008.

More information can be found in the provisional agenda and in the covering notes.

STOP PRESS: Alternative booking arrangements are currently being made following John Annett’s hospitalisation. Groups should wait for further instructions before reserving their place.

A short report in Thursday’s Guardian appears to be the first appearance in the national press of an issue that been showing up in local papers up and down the country. YHA’s application for 24-hour drink and entertainment licences for many of its hostels has made the news in…

• Alfriston
• Cambridge
• Cockermouth
• St Briavels
• Newcastle
• Saffron Walden

All have made some effort to obtain and express the YHA’s side of the story, but I suspect many readers will still be getting the wrong impression of the Association. Unfortunately, the YHA appears to operate a “good news only” policy on it’s news and press web pages - stories which aren’t 100% positive are left to third parties to explain, with whatever inaccuracies and distortions they introduce. So, in the absence of anything from Matlock, I’m going add to the ranks of those third parties (remember this is NOT an official YHA site) and give the story as I understand it, largely based on a briefing given to Central Regional Council last weekend.

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A disused granary could become the YHA’s most northerly outpost if the Berwick Preservation Trust have their way. The Grade II listed building on Dewars Lane will be converted into exhibition space and a 42-bed hostel (to be operated by YHA under a 50 year lease according to the Berwick Advertiser) if a £4.5 million pound scheme gets the go ahead.

As always, the problem is getting the funding. £2.8 million has already been secured, and appeals have been made to Berwick Borough Council, the Big Lottery Fund and to the Northern Rock Foundation (good luck with that one, folks!). You can even sponsor part of the work yourself, at prices varying from £10 for a pantile to £500 for a window. If successful, the place could be up and running by summer 2009.

Berwick is an interesting and attractive old town, and a hostel here would also be well placed for visits to Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands. In addition, it would fill the gap opened by SYHA’s closure of Coldingham YH, which was announced in September. The only question to ask is whether it’s too close to Wooler YH for both to be successful?