Darvel has plenty for young children: play parks, a skate park, football pitches and a sports centre. But when residents were asked what the town was missing, one gap stood out – a place for teenagers.
In the Community Views Survey behind the Darvel Community Action Plan 2014–2019, one resident put it simply: the town needed somewhere for its 13 to 17 year olds to hang out and socialise. Others said Darvel did not have enough things to do, and pointed to a lack of community group activities and information.
The plan took the message on board. It recognised the need to support young people with more activities for their age group, and noted a specific call from the community for a youth club or café.
Creating a youth club and café became the third priority under the plan's Community Facilities and Activities theme. Importantly, the plan did not propose designing it for young people, but with them. The action set out was to work with young people to develop proposals for additional activities, such as a youth club or youth café. Local young people, schools, the Community Council and East Ayrshire Council were named as the partners.
Young people's voices were built into the plan from the start. Alongside the household survey, a separate children's views survey was carried out through Darvel Primary School. Comments from younger residents included praise for the Big Park, the nature, the shopping, the skate park and "the cage".
The skate park itself featured in the plan too. Under a priority to upgrade the Recreation Park, pavilion and skate park, the plan proposed lighting for the skate park so it could be used for longer. The Darvel Skateboard Group was named as a partner, alongside local sports clubs, East Ayrshire Council and East Ayrshire Leisure Trust.
The plan even looked beyond the town's boundaries. Under its public transport priority, it proposed encouraging bus operators to allow BMX bikes on board, so that young people from outwith Darvel could get to the skate park more easily.
The thinking connected with the plan's wider concerns. Anti-social behaviour was the second most common complaint in the survey, raised by 31% of respondents, and a lack of things to do is often part of that picture.
The plan's vision for 2020 described a pretty town where people could enjoy bringing up their children. Giving teenagers a place of their own was seen as an essential part of making that true.

A place for teenagers.