A MANIFESTO for youth will be launched tomorrow evening (Friday). The manifesto will outline the aims of the Buntingford Youth Council and highlight areas youngsters want to see improved and extended. In March, the council launched a comprehensive survey

A MANIFESTO for youth will be launched tomorrow evening (Friday).

The manifesto will outline the aims of the Buntingford Youth Council and highlight areas youngsters want to see improved and extended.

In March, the council launched a comprehensive survey of young people living in the town.

Of the 1,200 forms sent out, 689 were returned.

Buntingford Town Council town clerk Jill Jones said: "We needed a clearer idea of what the young people in Buntingford want.

"The questionnaire means that we now have a fair view of what the young people from Buntingford and who go to school in the town want."

The youth council has used the data from the questionnaires to create the manifesto.

One of the main concerns that emerged is public transport. The manifesto will ask for increased services, particularly for those living in the surrounding villages.

They also want a regular service to Stevenage.

The youth council also found that most of the young people surveyed wanted a cinema in the town.

The town council is now looking at the possibility of putting on regular film screenings at the community centre. Ten-pin bowling was another demand, and the youth council is hoping to take trips to nearby bowling complexs.

Young people said that there was a lack of advice on careers and health, and they did not know much about local government structure.

They would also like to see a young persons' guide to Buntingford produced which would include bullet points and snippets of information on these issues.

Some 77 per cent of the young people who completed the questionnaire did not know who their local MP was.

Oliver Heald, the MP for North-east Herts, will be present to meet the youth council and to receive the manifesto along with other representatives from Herts County Council, East Herts District Council and Buntingford Town Council.

The launch will take place at the Manor House in Buntingford tomorrow (Friday) at 5pm.

Mrs Jones added: "The manifesto will be successful because the youth council has acted on what the young people want."

n With the help of a grant from the county council's youth opportunity and capital fund, the Buntingford Youth Council will be holding its first summer festival on July 14.

Bands including JB and the Gang, Futureboy and MATW will be playing at the gala day at the Seth Ward Community Centre.

Entry to the event will be free and the day will run from 1.30pm-11pm.