More than 520 young people used Rugby's free summer youth hub, and 61 of 64 who rated it called it excellent or good. Whether it returns is not yet decided.
More than 520 young people used Rugby’s free Summer Youth Hub in the town centre this summer. Of the 64 who rated it, 61 said it was excellent or good.
The figures come from a report noted by Rugby Borough Council’s Cabinet on 3 November. The Cabinet agenda pack carries the full report and a project summary, and the council published its own release the next day.
Whether the hub runs again next summer has not been decided. The report says that decision rests with the Rugby Community Safety Partnership Board.
What the hub was
The hub ran 17 sessions in an empty shop unit at Rugby Central between 22 July and 31 August. Rugby Central let the partnership use the unit free of charge. It was open to young people aged 11 and over, and to parents and carers.
The council’s community safety team led it, through the Rugby Community Safety Partnership. It was paid for with £15,000 of Home Office Serious Violence Duty grant. The council’s community wardens gave 51 hours across the 17 sessions.
The partners named in the report were:
- Guiding Young Minds, which also ran outreach from its van
- Warwickshire Police
- Warwickshire County Council
- Hill Street Youth and Community Centre
- Orbit, the housing association
- Assist Trauma Care
- GLL, which runs the council’s leisure centres
- Rugby Central’s own security team
Sessions mostly ran in the afternoons and early evenings, when young people are most likely to be in town. They included games and activities, advice on staying safe, and 35 virtual reality sessions on the consequences of knife crime and violence.
We reported on the hub in September, when Warwickshire Police said it had passed 500 visits. The Cabinet report is the first full account of what young people said about it.
What young people said
The report gives these results:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How was your experience? (64 replies) | 39 excellent, 22 good |
| Did the hub keep you occupied and out of trouble? (28 replies) | 15 definitely, 10 a little, 3 no |
| Police survey: was the hub helpful or enjoyable, or did you get support? (38 replies) | 37 yes |
In all, 131 young people filled in a survey: 38 through the council and 93 through Warwickshire Police. Most visitors were young teenagers. The project summary says those aged 11 to 14 made up 82% of the records that gave a valid age.
The most striking answer came when they were asked where they would otherwise have been. Almost half, 30 of 64, said hanging around the town centre.
The report is careful about what this shows. “This does not prove the Hub prevented anti-social behaviour,” it says. It does show the hub gave young people somewhere else to go at the times they were most likely to be in town.
Why it was set up
The report says the town centre saw more anti-social behaviour involving young people in 2025/26 than the year before, and some of it escalated. A multi-agency police operation identified more than 50 young people involved.
A youth survey found young people wanted more to do, and knew little about the youth provision already in the borough.
What the crime figures show so far
Police-recorded figures for August, the hub’s only full month, are now published. In the Rugby Town Centre police neighbourhood, data.police.uk records 24 anti-social behaviour incidents in August 2026, against 25 in August 2025. All recorded crime in the same area was 83, against 87 a year earlier.
That is close to flat. One month in one neighbourhood cannot say whether the hub made a difference, and neither the council nor the police has claimed it did. We used the force’s own boundary for the neighbourhood, the same method as our September report.
What young people want in Rugby
The surveys also asked about the town. Asked what would make Rugby safer, young people most often said:
- more police patrols (13)
- CCTV (10)
- more youth clubs and activities (8)
- better lighting and safer alleyways (7)
The concerns they raised most were groups of young people and gangs, vaping, alcohol, and violence including knives. Asked what they would like to see, they most often named parks, skateparks and outdoor spaces (14), clubs and youth venues (11), and sport (9).
The partnership says it will use the answers in its future youth work and in the town centre CCTV upgrade programme.
Will it come back?
Not decided. Cllr Jerry Roodhouse, the council’s deputy leader, said: “As part of the budget process we will be exploring how we can maintain this initiative and also involve young people in the decision-making process.”
Cllr Claire Edwards, portfolio holder for communities, housing and safety, thanked the community safety team and wardens. “This was partnership working at its best,” she said.
The report says officers will report to the Community Safety Partnership Board on any future delivery. The council set this year’s budget in February 2026, so the 2027/28 budget is the one to watch.
What it means for you
- If you have a child aged 11 or over, there is no hub running now. Nothing has been announced for the Christmas or February half-term holidays.
- If you want it back, the deputy leader has tied its future to the 2027/28 budget. We will report what the draft budget says when it is published.
- If you run a youth group or club, the survey found young people did not know what was already on offer. Hill Street Youth and Community Centre and Guiding Young Minds were both partners this summer.
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