Freedom Leisure is delighted to announce that it's Friday Night Project at K2 Crawley will run for another year thanks to funding from Crawley Borough Council and the Sussex Police Authority.

Due to the success of the project, not-for-profit leisure trust, Freedom Leisure will receive a total of £8,000 towards running the award-winning scheme. Since the project started, police have reported a drop of 15% in youth related, anti-social behaviour on a Friday night

The project initially began in October 2009 and has attracted attendance of over 4,000 young people throughout the year. In June 2010 the project picked up an award for best "Innovative Youth Project" at the annual Crawley South West Youth Awards 2010 (CSWA). The scheme runs every Friday between 8.00pm - 10.00pm, offering young people between the ages of 11-19 the chance to participate in subsidised sports activities including basketball, football, climbing, trampolining and streetdance. The sessions cost just £2 per person for the whole evening.

Dave Downey, Freedom Leisure's Community Sport Development Officer at K2 Crawley, who devised the project in consultation with young people and community groups, said "The Friday Night Project has been a great success. When I was planning the Project, I anticipated attracting 50 young people a week, but attendances have averaged 100 in the first year, with some weeks reaching nearly 150!"

"It's been particularly encouraging to see almost half of the participants attending from Crawley's neighbourhood improvement areas of Broadfield, Bewbush and Langley Green, whilst over 400 young people from ethnic minority backgrounds have also taken part. It's been a great example of how community groups and agencies can work in partnership to have a positive impact on young people's lives."

The success of the initiative has not gone unnoticed and Wealden District Council has already shown interest in running their own youth project. Officers from Wealden District Council visited the project last week to see it in action and discuss the impact of the project in the local community.

Councillor Lenny Walker, Cabinet member for Leisure and Culture at Crawley Borough Council, said: "The Friday Night Project has been a huge success in its first year. We are happy to support the youngsters of the town by funding the project for a second year. I hope it continues to go from strength to strength."