Bromyard Youth Voices: a rural community at a crossroads
What 330+ children and young people feel about safety, belonging, and a future in their rural town. Facilitated by Rural Media Charity’s P.O.V. rural youth listening programme.
Bromyard Youth Voices 2025 report
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Throughout 2025 Rural Media’s P.O.V. (Point of View) youth listening programme, supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, has been speaking with children and young people growing up in and around the Herefordshire town of Bromyard. What we heard reveals a snapshot of diverse lived experiences, ambitions and challenges, and we’re sharing their voices in this report so that contemporary rural youth experience can directly shape local services, community plans, and youth provision.
The key finding:
There is a clear shift from primary school children (under 12s) having positive community feeling to stark feelings of disconnection and lack of pride that secondary school young people (12-16) experience.
This reveals an opportunity - a critical intervention point around the ages of 10 to 12.
Older young people (14-16) voiced a sense of apathy and disengagement, lower levels of interest in community engagement and traditional youth club offers. Their responses revealed mental health and wellbeing concerns, feelings of desperation, isolation and severe boredom.
There's a deterioration in community connection. Children in primary school reported 75% happiness, while only 18% feel proud to be from Bromyard by the time they are at secondary school.
The data suggests Bromyard has an opportunity over a two to three year period (when children and young people are aged between 10-13) to stoke and maintain young people's positive connection to their community before attitudes become entrenched and negative. The fear that primary children have of teenagers indicates this transition period is particularly critical.
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Lived experiences have shaped the 15 recommendations this report makes to improve the lives of children and young people, and support the wider community, in Bromyard. Some are quick wins, most will need collaboration, others will take time, effort and funding.
We have shared insights with key stakeholders throughout the creative consultation process so some actions are more ready to progress or be considered.
Read all the recommendations here.
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Building trust with young people takes time and planning. We’ve included a detailed breakdown of what has happened over the past 12 months, starting in November 2024 with conversations with West Mercia Police & Talk Community.
Introduction by Toni Cook, P.O.V. Creative Producer, Rural Media
In 2025 Rural Media’s P.O.V. (Point of View) programme was asked to consult with young people in Bromyard to explore their views about safety following conversations with West Mercia Police. This was an opportunity for a broader conversation for P.O.V. to have with young people living in Bromyard and the surrounding area and we launched a full-scale creative consultation. Having been speaking with young people across Herefordshire and South Shropshire since 2020 we were delighted to connect with young people in Bromyard to create a snapshot of their experiences, ambitions, and ideas on shaping the town’s future.
Following initial conversations with stakeholders we decided to focus our consultation with children and young people from aged 9 to 16 years. The rationale for this being we could impact longer term change by connecting with younger children that was more sustainable and impactful. We divided the consultation into three age bands:
9-11 years (Years 5-6)
11-14 years (Years 7-9)
14-16 years (Years 10-11)
This age-specific approach recognises that a 9-year-old's experiences differ significantly from a 16-year-olds. By speaking with each age bracket separately, we wanted to better understand their distinct concerns and interests, especially of the younger age groups, and potentially establish activities that build lasting connections between young people and the town as they grow up.
As always with P.O.V. creativity is at the heart of what we do and how we work and that has been no different in Bromyard.
We used poetry, creative writing, drama, dance, parkour and documentary photography to open up conversations with young people growing up here. We intentionally took time to build trust and relationships with young people, adults and organisations in the town, and through this slow and steady approach we have had 577 creative interactions with children and young people. We have worked with Bromyard Info, both in print and online, to share our work and its intentions, and we’ve collaborated with community leaders to now platform the voice of Bromyard’s young residents.
Our work in the town has been championed by Aimee Williams, Talk Community Development Officer and we are thankful to her for the access and support she has provided.
Consulted and surveyed 77 young people from Years 10 & 11 (aged 14-16)
Spoke with 73 children and young people at Bromyard Party in the Park (aged 9-17)
Involved 90 young people aged 9-15 in co-creating survey questions
Consulted and surveyed 65 children from Years 5 and 6 (aged 9-11)
Consulted and surveyed 197 young people from Years 7-9 (aged 11-14)
Ran creative activities with more than 75 children and young people
Listening to Youth Voice
577 individual responses - gathered through 1:1 conversations, group sessions, creative workshops, paper and online surveys - have fed into the Bromyard Youth Voice report. We have analysised what those 330+ children and young people said, and have produced recommendations for consideration and change.
All data and learning is freely available to professionals and organisations working with children, families and young people, and is now being circulated to decision makers working at all political levels.
On October 18th 2025 we’re holding a youth-led sharing event at St Peter’s Church in Bromyard for the wider community to hear from and speak directly to under 18s involved.
📸 Image of young people’s photography session at Bromyard Scarecrow Festival 2025. Photo by Billie Charity.
Involving Young People in the Creative Consultation Process - which means they wrote the questions we asked
The creative consultation started when we were invited to run sessions with young people who attend the Hope Centre’s Youth Group and with Bromyard Guides. Through creative writing and poetry activities, children and young people aged between 9 and 16 started to share what they loved about the area and what they found challenging and frustrating
Primary Schools
We ran creative sessions with Years 5 and 6 pupils at St Peter’s Primary to find out what they thought. Using poetry and drama to creatively engage the pupils we had fantastic responses to the consultation. Initial conversations were very positive about how the children feel about where they live but it then also brought up the lack of swimming pool, dog poo and littering concerns and the subject of teenagers being unpleasant to them on a frequent basis, including racism.
“The stars at night are gorgeous and clear, something you may not find in other places”
“Living in the country, you are cut off, and having to drive everywhere, it gets frustrating”
“I don't like the amount of dog poop on the pavement because I am walking and I almost stand in it”
“The things I hate is whenever I goes through the park there will be some teenager boys at the gate who says something bad (racist) about me when I pass through them.”
Through creative activities the children examined what they love about Bromyard, what they found frustrating, something they’d like to change and ideas for keeping people safe.
“In the future I want to see older children be kinder to little ones. I'd also like more different sporting opportunities and less judgements of peoples looks and personalities.”
“We could help people and the environment by adding more public bins and making sure they are used.”
We then consulted with the children to come up with the questions that they would like to ask themselves and each other for a survey. They also spent time thinking about the future and how one day they will become the older teens and how they might approach things differently then.
The sessions were incredibly lively, positive, engaging and celebratory and we all enjoyed them immensely. The children had so many ideas of how to change things in the town to make it better for everyone.
For the Year 5 to 6 age group we created a paper-based survey with 13 questions (from a total offering of over 250) that was filled in by children during lessons with support from teaching staff. The questions reflected the concerns of the children and there was a focus on safety and a look to the future. We wanted to ensure that the children had the opportunity to celebrate the things about where they lived as well as be critical.
Secondary School
We liaised with the senior leadership team at QE High School that year 10 and 11 pupils would be able to fill this survey in on their phones during school time, in advance of the busy GCSE period.
We chose just eight questions to keep it short and focussed for the older age group. The questions explored best things and frustrations, park use and activity, a youth space, changes, safety and future.
The response rate for this age group was a little low (77 responses) The slight lack of engagement compared to the other age groups is perhaps indicative of older teenagers feelings of being disengaged from their town, or apathy, or other unknown reason.
For years 7-9 we consulted 80 young people from this age band in QE to contribute questions to be placed into the survey. There is particular focus on Halo and the use of the gym and also exploring opportunities for other leisure and sports classes for young people. A lot of focus on food and things that people like to do in addition to the usual questions about safety, future challenges and frustrations. The bus was also focused on for this age group as many use it to get to school or at weekends.
A total of 18 questions were compiled into a paper-based survey. This was completed in school, during form times. 197 completed questionnaires with a very good level of detail from some. There were some dismissive comments from others who go to the school but do not live in the area and therefore felt the survey was not relevant for them, similar to experience in other rural towns.
The children and young people have been honest, thoughtful, generous and reflective in their answers.
Pop-ups at Halo Gym
Following the receipt of all of the surveys we ran two pop-up consultation events at Bromyard Halo in the summer holidays, one for the 9-12 age group to ask some specific questions about their views on a youth club (what they might like to do, where it might be, what times it would run, whether it is important if it was free or not) and a second event for 12 to 16 year olds exploring more with them a little bit more about the tensions between older and younger children, about relationships with the police and people's experiences in the town.
We had very frank conversations with young people who have been accused of anti-social behaviour and perhaps engage in some anti-social behaviour and West Mercia Police PCSOs were present for that - it felt like it was the start of a new conversation to allow people to move forward.
Analysis - what has been revealed?
The project reveals several pressing issues and areas of concern directly affecting the lifestyles, wellbeing, and experiences of children and young people growing up in Bromyard today.
In this section of the report, we analyse the results first by age group and then compare the findings side by side to look for links, interconnected concerns, patterns and difference.
We set out critical insights, key findings by age group, reflections when comparing age group data sets, and conclude with 15 actionable recommendations for Bromyard leaders and young people to progress together.
Young people’s insights can be broken down into nine areas:
Lack of activities and clubs, especially sports (free or low cost) available for young people
Lack of amenities for young people to meet and hang out - space that is safe and dry
Tension between teenagers and younger children, particularly in shared spaces like Kempson Players park
Wide range of children and young people feeling unsafe. Reasons include lack of visibility of police, racism, abuse from older teenagers
Issues with public transport - lack of service, cost, over-crowding
Equipment in Kempson Players park is vandalised, shelter roofs removed and not replaced. Everyone suffering from the actions of the few
Young people feeling they have little or no influence in services affecting them - their voices are unheard
Many children and young people intend to move away from Bromyard - what does this mean for the future of the town?
Swimming pool mentioned time and time again. Children and young people have to travel to go swimming and play sports. If they can’t get transport to nearby towns, participation comes to an end
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Combined results from multiple primary schools: 65 respondents.
Still relatively positive about Bromyard (75% happy)
High activity participation but need to travel for many activities
Swimming pool is the overwhelming request
Fear of teenagers dominates safety concerns
Children aged 9 to 11 generally enjoy living in Bromyard, highlighting the park, local food shops, and surrounding countryside as standout features. Some respondents feel safe during the day, though many expressed a desire for a stronger police presence to help prevent bullying from older teens. Despite the overall positive feedback, only 16 out of 62 pupils said they would choose to live in Bromyard after the age of 18.
Happy living in Bromyard? 75% said yes, 5% said no, 20% said not sure.
Satisfaction is high within this age group. On a scale of 1-10 low to high, 28% scored Bromyard a 9 or 10.
Most Popular Activities:
Football (12 responses)
Swimming (10 responses)
Guides/Scouts (7 responses)
Gymnastics (6 responses)
Karate (5 responses)
The highest score (22%) was nothing.
14 children reported doing "nothing" outside school.
43% of children travel 0-10 minutes to access activities, and 56% children travel 15-45+ minutes to access activities.
27% of children said that they are restricted in what activities they can participate in due to money.
Feeling safe? Only 28 % of children feel safe at all times. 9% don’t feel safe at any times.
Their primary safety concerns:
Teenagers - overwhelmingly the top concern
Lack of police
Strangers
Bullies
Dogs, fights, drunks
When asked about what should be improved, the top requests were:
Swimming pool
More police/safety
Better shops
Improved parks
When asked about going to a youth club: 28% would attend; 59% of children would maybe attend with more information; 13% said they would not attend.
Preferred activities: Art/craft; chat/chill; sport, board games.
Barriers to attendance: Being busy; parents; other clubs; bullies.
26% of children saw themselves living in Bromyard as an adult, while 37% said they’d move away and an equal 37% not sure often citing concerns about boredom and safety.
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169 responses from secondary school students aged 11 to 14.
Mixed satisfaction (scores evenly distributed across 1-10 rating, low to high)
Strong link seen between boredom and antisocial behaviour (98 agreed)
Low levels of community pride
Desire for more facilities, but responses indicate they’d be less likely to participate in new activities
Children aged 11–14 generally hold a low opinion of living in Bromyard, highlighting a need for improved sports facilities, food outlets, and retail options.
This age group see a clear link between lack of activities and antisocial behaviour. 63% believe that the limited availability of social activities has a ripple effect on other aspects of their lives.
When asked whether sufficient leisure activities/events are available for young people, just under half of respondents 48% said no. Although most expressed a desire for more leisure events and opportunities, almost half indicated they would not be willing to volunteer at those events if they were invited to. This suggests the young people in this age group are enthusiastic and keen to participate, they might be less inclined to take on organisational roles.
The age group showed a clear appreciation for Bromyard’s surrounding countryside, highlighting its importance as a valued aspect of the local environment.
46 young people gave Bromyard a low satisfaction rating (1-10, low to high); 63 students gave a moderate satisfaction rating; 60 students gave a high satisfaction rating.
They asked for improvements in:
Sporting facilities (27 mentions)
Parks (23 mentions)
Swimming pool (16 mentions)
Shops (19 mentions)
Fun activities (17 mentions)
More police (10 mentions)
Best things about Bromyard:
Countryside
Shops
Parks
Don't know
Small size
Friendly community
Top desired activities: Swimming (23 mentions); Football (8 mentions); Running clubs (6 mentions); Boxing (5 mentions); Basketball/Tennis (4 each).
49 students said they had no interest in new activities.
When asked if there were enough spaces to hang out in 42 said yes, 71 no, and 59 were not sure.
43% 12–14 year olds reported feeling safe.
Only 16% felt there were sufficient leisure events.
They are eager for improvements to the local bus system. Living in a rural area often means relying on parents for transport, which limits their independence. A better bus service would offer them greater freedom to travel, connect with friends, and access activities more easily. They identified a need for more buses, better quality, more stops, more frequent and on time.
Only 17% felt there were enough opportunities for girls.
20% were proud to be from Bromyard.
60% said that The Bromyard Centre (Halo) needs improvements, while 76% wanted more youth focused exercise classes.
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Young people aged 14 to 16 shared many positive views about life in Bromyard, even though most didn't envision their future there. The survey for this age group did ask them specifically what they liked about the area to encourage an opportunity for positivity. The quiet and peaceful countryside was consistently ranked among the top five best aspects of living in the area.
They highlighted a clear need for better gym equipment and improved public transport to make living in the town more enjoyable. Consistent comments about lack of anything to do littered the responses as did feelings of lack of safety, day and night.
Their core concerns are:
Social Problems
Youth Bullying & Antisocial Behaviour
Drug-Related Issues
Community Tensions
Safety Concerns
Transport Deficiencies/ Road Conditions
Limited Shopping
What this age group like about Bromyard:
Local shops and amenities, with repeat mentions for the Co-op, Greggs, Premier, Takeaway restaurants and the gym at The Bromyard Centre.
Social connections and being close to friends: "I know lots of people"; "everyone is friends”.
Peace and quiet - Multiple mentions of Bromyard’s tranquil, peaceful environment.
Access to countryside and nature: praise for Bromyard Downs, local nature walks, scenery, wildlife, and green spaces.
Convenience and location: "Everything essential is close”'; voicing that the town is easy to navigate, and it is in a central location between cities.
Approximately 15-20% of responses were variations of "nothing" or explicitly negative.
Many responses suggesting boredom, and “nothing to do”, or voices concern about limited opportunities for this age group.
Their comments are revealing:
“Peace, less public, good and supportive community, The Mayor of Bromyard is very friendly, good school"
"I enjoy quiet places like Bromyard Downs. I can mostly enjoy time at home because there isn't any disturbance around me"
“There isn't anything!"
"Literally nothing, nothing, and nothing"
“It's so boring"
"Many pubs, it's green and a lot of poverty"
64 of the 77 responses from Years 10 and 11 (83%) said they do not see their future in Bromyard.
“There’s no decent library”
“There’s not much to do, as you get older there are less and less options on what activities you can do”
Only five young people expressed that they could see their future in Bromyard.
19% said they feel safe in Bromyard, with 32% saying they only feel safe in the daytime. 25% said they did not feel safe at any time.
What about youth provision?
Only 13% of young people said they would attend a central youth provision in Bromyard, with 39% saying ‘definitely not’ and 23% ‘unsure’.
Thirteen young people didn’t give a definitive yes or no. Instead, they shared what they would prefer or revealed that they weren’t familiar with what a youth club is.
Results by age group
Key Differences Between Age Groups - Why is There Tension Between Under 12s and 14+?
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Primary: 28% feel safe "at all times"
Secondary (7-9) : 37% feel generally safe (higher confidence)
Older Secondary (10-11) 19% feel safe at all times with 25% saying they don’t feel safe at all.
"Teenager Fear" - primary school children overwhelmingly cite "teenagers" as their main safety concern This creates a concerning dynamic where younger children fear older children; community spaces become age-segregated; negative perceptions of youth behaviour are reinforced.
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Primary: Higher participation in broad range of organised activities
Secondary: More requests for facilities but less actual participation.
We saw a clear pattern of declining organised activity participation as children age.
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Primary: More positive about staying in Bromyard long-term (but still low at 26%).
Secondary (7-9) : Only 18% proud to be from Bromyard (vs 37% not proud)
Secondary (10-11): 83% of this age group do not see their future in Bromyard-with only five young people expressed they would be staying
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Both age groups want similar improvements (swimming pool, better facilities) but face different barriers.
Primary: Safety concerns and parental restrictions.
Secondary: Boredom and social dynamics
RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations for change
Regular meetings via Talk Community with key strategic partners who work with young people have been essential in producing these recommendations. The learning from the consultation conversations in Bromyard and the surrounding area offer the town an opportunity to create positive change for the future.
To create opportunities for early interventions with younger aged children (from 9 years) means that positive relationships can be built with professionals, stakeholders and the community that will contribute to a more cohesive community preventing a build in anti-social behaviour.
The recommendations have been created to inspire, influence and inform change in Bromyard and the surrounding area that have all come directly from children and young people's ideas and needs.
1) Youth worker led, quality youth provision is needed in the town with sessions split into different age groups for appropriate activities.
2) A regular, free, central youth club led by professional youth workers supported by volunteers for young people aged 9-12 years
3) A youth café/inside space for young people aged 13-14+ to meet, chill, buy food, space for conversation, signposting and support.
4) Promotion of the diverse range of activities (new and existing) to be offered in the town for children, young people and families, including those with SEND, delivered by the existing organisations.
5) Regular girls indoor, coach-led football sessions for 11+ at The Bromyard Centre, Halo.
6. Youth targeted activity and gym sessions at Halo Leisure that is funded/low cost and sustained over a period for people to attend.
7. Funding support for the shelter roof to be fixed at Kempson Players (in consultation with the Police regarding drug-related prevention for the lower shelter).
8) Create a way for young people to be able to report issues with equipment at the park to the Kempson Players committee. Plus support for the committee to communicate back with the town regarding issues, plans and a need for volunteers.
9. Additional/new equipment at Kempson Players- with age separated areas and improved football goals (currently the nets are put out and brought in daily due to vandalism which is unsustainable for volunteers).
10. Better relationships with Police/PSCOs- opportunity for police led activities-increased visibility, regular school visits and “surgeries”.
11. Opportunities made available for young people to volunteer and participate in community activities to build their responsibility as members of the community
12. Acceptance from the community that young people are allowed to hang out/take up space without that meaning that they are engaging in anti-social activity
13. Have a town conversation about a swimming pool. Is it ever going to happen? And if not, can a line be drawn and can support offered to get to Tenbury Wells/Malvern/Hereford.
14. Establish a youth "task force" or "working group" whose members - including Bromyard Town Council and Police - regularly come together to action plan, respond to issues and information share, led by Herefordshire Council’s Talk Community.
15. One to one surgeries between P.O.V. and key stakeholders to explore in detail specific data.
In considering a location for regular youth provision in Bromyard it is important to acknowledge the Hope Family Centre. Although many young people see it as somewhere for Early Years or as a contact centre and therefore not for them, they also have moaned about its location/crossing busy, dangerous roads to get to it. But it does have a cafe space, which could be considered as possible location for a regular youth cafe provision, with the support of staff and volunteers. The Hope Centre also has a small youth group who meet fortnightly in a small space and these young people receive good youth work support and nurture but it would not be suitable as a larger youth provision due to space and the needs of the existing group.
The Public Hall is a central space, low hire charge, good facilities and well known. There is an upstairs space for smaller, chilled activities and a large hall space that can be zoned/have larger games happening with a fully resourced kitchen area for refreshments. There is one way in and out which can help to control numbers and participants. There is low cost car parking nearby for staff and volunteers. There is equipment in the building that is being offered to a youth group, i.e. table tennis table.
The Bromyard Centre has bookable spaces but they are very large and are sports associated. The sports hall will work well as an indoor venue for organised girls football.
Illustrations here by Buchanan Sigrist.
Primary school students perform their poems and performances about Bromyard.
Voices of St Peter’s Primary School
We are indebted to all of the local residents, community groups, leaders, schools and services who supported the creative consultation and sharing event. Thank you.
Kempson Players
Herefordshire Libraries
Bromyard Christmas Lights team
Bromyard Scarecrow Festival
Rural Media’s Point of View (P.O.V.) programme is funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to platform rural youth voice and influence policy change.
It champions creative expression, storytelling and communication as tools for empowerment and youth-led policy change.
Sharing Event
On October 18th 2025, the voices of 330+ children and young people who took part in the creative consultation were platformed at a public sharing event. We also launched this report on the day, making it available to all. More than 100 people attended.
At the sharing event, young people who attend the Hope Centre Youth group took a leading role by presenting the project’s findings, while the Bromyard Youth Theatre based at The Conquest and the Creative Writers group set up by P.O.V. performed original creative responses to the data. We screened a short film featuring pupils from St Peter’s Primary School and supported local young people to interview the Mayor of Bromyard, The High Sheriff of Herefordshire and representatives from Diocese of Hereford live on stage. The sharing event was closed by Dr Ellie Chowns MP to champion the young participants and listen to their experiences first hand.
