Asda create national youth programme to help engage young people in deprived areas

By supporting Burnley’s SPACE Bus, ASDA saw that improving access to youth services can have an impact on reducing crime and anti-social behaviour; so in 2009 Asda launched OnRoute, a £1million nationwide programme to support mobile buses providing activities for young people in deprived communities.

You need the latest Flash installed and Javascript enabled to view media on this page. Please ensure Javascript has been enabled in your browser settings. You can download Flash with the link below.

Get Flash Player now

Through our support of the SPACE Bus in Burnley we have seen what a dramatic impact improving access to youth services can have on reducing crime, anti-social behaviour and other problems associated with alcohol and drug misuse.

Why the buses were set up

The SPACE bus was set up after a survey of 1,000 young people in Burnley showed that they wanted somewhere to chat with friends in a safe environment, somewhere they can take pride and feel a sense of ownership, and somewhere they have actually set up and develop.

Research shows that young people not be in education, employment or training for longer than six months are more likely to fall into long-term joblessness, ill-health and criminality.

As one of the largest British supermarket chains, Asda is committed to creating opportunities for young people. They believe that new interventions, such as mobile youth buses, are needed to support under-16s at risk of dropping out of school and to encourage young people into training or work.

Paul Kelly, Chair of the Asda Foundation, says, “Through our support of the SPACE Bus in Burnley we have seen what a dramatic impact improving access to youth services can have on reducing crime, anti-social behaviour and other problems associated with alcohol and drug misuse.”

About Asda OnRoute

Asda OnRoute provides funding and in-kind support to a range of different organisations to develop locally-owned mobile youth buses around the UK.  They are working closely with a number of partners including the Department for Education and the Football League Trust, to create a network across the country that shares best practice and support to enable the buses to become more self-sustaining.

Over the last year Asda has joined forces with local football clubs and launched new buses in Sheffield with the City Council, and in Blackpool with Lancashire Clubs for Young People. Staffing support has been provided in Cornwall to help Young People Cornwall to staff local authority owned vehicles at times when they are not currently being used. Asda has also funded refurbishment costs to keep Safe in Tees Valley’s vehicles on the road in Hartlepool, Redcar and Middlesbrough.  The inspiration for OnRoute, the Burnley SPACE bus, has also benefited from Asda’s continued support.

Impact of the programme

• In Burnley, the numbers of young people using the SPACE bus averages 45-50 each night with up to 100 at weekends. As a result of this, the levels of criminal damage and anti-social behaviour have been reduced by an estimated 885 incidents. 
• Overall this has resulted in far fewer people being victimised and over 1000 less deployments for police officers.
• In one area, Burnley Wood, there was a 39% decrease in criminal damage and an 18% decrease in anti-social behaviour over the ten-week period SPACE was deployed.
• OnRoute is supporting new buses in Sheffield, Blackpool, Cornwall and Tees Valley as well as providing ongoing support for the Burnley SPACE bus.