The youth clubs fighting to stay relevant in the social media age

By Adina Campbell UK correspondent It's 17:00 on Thursday in Bradford and as I approach a three-storey former country pub, drill music booms from the basement. The snappy, rhythmic beats are not what you expect inside this old, listed building. This is where teenagers from Gypsy, traveller and Roma communities get together every week. Older generations would call this a youth club but when I meet 16-year-old Sterling, he's quick to correct me: "Youth clubs are out of style." As he fiddles with his cap, I suggest that this very building is in fact a re-branded model of a youth club. "I mean, like, all right, it's similar, it has a resemblance to a youth club," he says. "But I view it more of a place to hang out, eat food and hustle." Sterling has been coming here for two years. The club is called Romalandia and calls itself a "cultural centre" on its social media pages. The basement music studio is by far the most popular space, where, as Sterling puts it, "if you're a young rapper you get yourself a free producer", as well as the chance to socialise and have fun. Image caption, Sterling, 16, has been coming to Romalandia in Bradford for the past two years But whether you call it a youth club or a cultural centre, places like this are becoming increasingly rare in England and Wales. Youth clubs have been closing for years, while the number of youth workers has also fallen. Spending on youth services by local authorities in England has slumped by 73% since 2010 according to the latest data from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. In Wales, it's not as drastic, but has still fallen by 27% over the same period. For many communities, that has meant losing youth clubs altogether. More than 1,000 council-run youth centres have shut in England alone since 2010 according to the same government data. Many independent youth groups operate on tight budgets, relying heavily on volunteers and short-term grants. Without secure funding, some are forced to close after only a few months. The YMCA charity, the oldest provider of youth services in England and Wales, says there's been a real-term cut of more than £1.2bn pounds between 2010 and 2024. This means there are now far fewer leisure, cultural and sports activities being run from youth centres. Many youth centres like Romalandia don't get local authority funding or government support. It relies on private donations with some money coming from local businesses, charities and project-led community grants. But now, in London, Mayor Sadiq Khan has allocated £50m of this year's budget for youth services across the capital. And across England, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has also started opening hubs which it says will help teenagers with jobs, wellbeing and stop them falling into a life of crime. But even if the money is there, how do youth clubs make themselves appeal to Gen Z? And if they can appeal, how do they need to be set up to really help the people who use them? Sleepless nights