The Piecycle Challenge fundraiser – our final bid to save Ramsgate Youth Centre

Pie’s youth workers – Connor, Jeff and Luis – are cycling 240 miles from coast-to-coast, Portishead to Ramsgate, in 5 days from 5th to 9th June 2025 in a bid to raise funds for us and awareness of the need for dedicated spaces for young people to go to.

They’ll visit youth clubs along the way, meeting young people and flying the flag for youth work. Every turn of the pedals aims to get us closer to saving Ramsgate Youth Centre, which is being put up for commercial sale by Kent County Council, highlighting the urgent and important need for investment in youth work in Thanet.

The clock is ticking to save the youth centre. Having had two bids to buy the building rejected by the council, we are doing everything we can to have the decision to dispose of the it reconsidered by the new administration in the hope that it can be saved for future generations of young people in Ramsgate and beyond.

Donate at www.justgiving.com/page/piecycle-challenge and follow their journey on www.instagram.com/piefactorymusic

The ‘Piecycle Challenge’ will bring the fight to save the youth centre to life with each turn of the bicycle pedals. Along the 240-mile route, which starts in Portishead, Connor, Jeff and Luis will visit youth clubs in each county they travel through to spotlight just how vital youth centres are. They’ll meet fellow youth workers – the people creating safe spaces for young people outside of education where they can take part in creative and social opportunities and connect with others in person – and young people from these communities to hear the positive impact a youth centre has on their lives. The challenge will end with a celebratory homecoming party at Ramsgate Youth Centre open to all on Monday 9^th June from 5pm where the cyclists will be met on their return with live music from Pie’s Emerging Artists, food, drink and much-needed leg massages!

Every turn of the pedals aims to get Pie closer to saving Ramsgate Youth Centre and fly the flag for the urgent and important need for investment in youth work in Thanet.

Anything you can give will go a long way to fuel them during the ride and support Thanet’s young people in the future.

Over 1,000 young people attend Pie annually on average with participants describing the youth centre as a “safe haven”, their “second home” and a place to “make a fresh start”, “make friends” and “find freedom”. Without this space, the charity’s current provision of positive and diversionary activities and creative opportunities for young people will significantly decrease or stop, as they will be made to find alternative premises.

Connor, Jeff and Luis say:

“We live and breathe bikes, running Pie’s Bike Project initiative that equips young people with the skills and independence to ride, fix and maintain bicycles. It’s been a tough fight to save our youth centre, so with summer on the horizon, we’re channelling our passion into action. We’ve been pushing our limits, training hard, and are ready to take on some mega pedal power to raise £2,000 and awareness of our cause. We know times are tough for many, but anything you can give to offer the young people of Thanet hope right now is so appreciated.”

Please support Connor, Jeff and Luis on their journey – donate, send messages of support, meet them at key pitstops – it’ll show young people in Thanet that people care and that we believe they deserve better.”

Regular Pie participants, Luke and Jacob chatted with Connor and Jeff to find out more about the Piecycle Challenge, why they want to do it, what they’re looking forward to and how training is going so far. Watch the film below.

After Kent County Council rejected our bids to secure Ramsgate Youth Centre during the asset of community value moratorium, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to stop the disposal and delay the building from being listed for auction.

We have had confirmation that KCC will wait until after the local election (1st May) to put the building up for auction, giving us the opportunity to encourage a new administration to reconsider the decision to dispose of Ramsgate Youth Centre, safeguarding it for vital youth services and protecting its legacy. 

We need your help to do this by writing to your local election candidates and asking them to pledge to reconsider the decision to dispose of Ramsgate Youth Centre should they be elected.

Write to your local Councillors:

Bryan Harrod (Labour) info@kentlabour.org.uk
Fi O’Connor (Green) thanetgreenparty@gmail.com
Amelia Randall (Reform) hernebayandsandwich@reformuk.com
Laurie Hudson (Labour) info@kentlabour.org.uk
Will Jarman (Green) thanetgreenparty@gmail.com
Cllr Phil Fellows (Conservative) contact@kentconservatives.org.uk
Luke Evans (Reform) info@kentlabour.org.uk
Charlie Leys (Conservative) contact@kentconservatives.org.uk
Peter Mousley (Labour) info@kentlabour.org.uk
Marc Rattigan (Conservative) contact@kentconservatives.org.uk
Barry Manners (Conservative) llr-barry.manners@thanet.gov.uk
Thea Barrett (Green) thanetgreenparty@gmail.com
Helen Whitehead (Labour) cllr-helen.whitehead@thanet.gov.uk
John Davis (Conservative) cllr-john.davis@thanet.gov.uk
Trevor Shonk (Reform) Trevor.Shonk@kent.gov.uk
Harry Goldfinch (Liberal Democrat) harrygoldfinch@gmail.com
Cllr Derek Crow-Brown (Conservative) Derek.Crow-Brown@kent.gov.uk
Jack Packman (Labour) cllr-jack.packman@thanet.gov.uk
Becky Wing (Green) cllr-rebecca.wing@thanet.gov.uk
Claire Hedderman (Labour) claire.hedderman@parliament.uk
Steve Roberts (Green) greensteveroberts@gmail.com
Lesley Game (Conservative) Lesley.Game@kent.gov.uk
Barry Lewis- Independent Barry.Lewis@kent.gov.uk
Mike Garner (Green) mayoralservices@broadstairs.gov.uk
Joanne Bright (Labour) cllr-joanne.bright@thanet.gov.uk
Deborah Holmes (Liberal Democrat)
Dr Mo Shafaei (Liberal Democrat)
Matthew Brown (Liberal Democrat)
Claire Goldfinch(Liberal Democrat)
Rachel Mummery – (Liberal Democrat)
Jeremy de Rose (Liberal Democrat)

Read more about the candidates in this article.

Here’s why we believe disposing of the youth centre won’t save the council any money:

• Young people spend 85% of their waking hours outside of school (YMCA and National Youth Agency Time’s Running Out report 2021) – without dedicated spaces to go to young people are vulnerable to grooming, crime, social isolation and anti-social behaviour.
• Youth work saves £500 million on public spending through crime reduction. £1 investment in youth work is estimated to return £3.20 – £6.40 of social value (UK Youth and Frontier Economics: Economic Value of Youth Work report 2022).
• Demand for mental health support has skyrocketed by 82% (National Youth Sector Census 2024) – youth services provide vital preventative intervention: 30% of young people felt more self-confident, 22% felt less isolated; 25% had decreased stress levels, 24% said it helped improve their mental health (YMCA and NYA Time’s Running Out 2021)

We are still hopeful that together we can Save Our Youth Centre! But regardless of what happens with our building, Pie will survive, and we will continue to be there for the young people of Thanet. We aren’t going anywhere. 

Youth services like ours show young people they are worthy, that they are amazing and they contribute so much to our community and society as a whole. They can do so much if they’re given the right tools, opportunities and support. But they can’t just be left and that’s what is happening. I spoke to Strange Tourist in more detail about this. 

Thank you as ever for your ongoing support 🙏

Zoë

Pie Factory Music CEO

Donate to Save Our Youth Centre

We’ve had two purchase bids to secure the Ramsgate Youth Centre building for youth services rejected by Kent County Council (KCC), as officers declare their intention to sell the plot at commercial market. This will result in the loss of the last remaining dedicated youth centre in Thanet.

Securing the building for community use is crucial to safeguarding essential support for Thanet’s young people amid an unprecedented socio-economic and mental health crisis. This decision is hugely disappointing, as our well-developed and sustainable vision for a Youth-led Community Centre presents a viable solution to the Council’s budget challenges. It would save this long-standing youth space for the generations of now and the future

We need your help!

Please help us persuade KCC to STOP the commercial sale of Ramsgate Youth Centre.

Raise your voice to block the sale at commercial market by writing to your local KCC Member. If enough people speak out, KCC will have to listen.

Step 1 – WritE to your local KCC Member requesting the building is not put on the commercial market when they have an offer from a community organisation within the Asset of Community Value (ACV) moratorium period.
Find your local KCC Member here.

Step 2 – Spread the word – share our request on your social media channels, tell your friends, colleagues and community groups. Every voice counts (and is appreciated).

Over 1,000 young people attend Pie annually on average with participants describing the youth centre as a “safe haven”, their “second home” and a place to “make a fresh start”, “make friends” and “find freedom”. Without this space, our current provision of positive and diversionary activities and creative opportunities for young people will significantly decrease or stop, as we will be made to find alternative premises.

How we’ve arrived here

In September 2024, KCC put Ramsgate Youth Centre, Pie’s home, up for disposal, in a bid to balance its budget, just six months after cutting the charity’s commissioned youth services funding. The building is the last dedicated youth centre in the local area, following the transformation of the former Quarterdeck Youth Hub in Margate into a Family Hub which focuses on Early Years provision.

Pie immediately registered an interest in purchasing the building, which has had ACV status since 2022. This kick-started a six-month ‘moratorium period’ for the charity to prepare a proposal and raise funds before the owner (KCC) can agree to a sale.

Ramsgate Youth Centre is listed as an ACV because of the benefits it provides to the social interests of the local community. The Centre ensures:

A dedicated safe space outside of education for young people to learn, build confidence, make friends, and connect with others in person.

A place where young people can take part in music, creative and social opportunities, receive counselling and 1-2-1 mental health support.

Young people have access to face-to-face support from trained youth workers, creating a welcoming place to go.

A message from our CEO Zoë

“This is crunch time for us. If we don’t secure this building for our continued use, there will be no dedicated youth centre in Thanet for vulnerable young people to turn to, at a time when they need it the most. We have worked closely with our solicitors to present two fair and sound offers of purchase, following our own valuation of the building and conducting the due process in line with KCC’s requirements. Despite presenting a fair and sustainable offer in alignment with this, we are yet to receive a clear rationale for its rejection. This move will ensure the young people of Thanet and East Kent, and their families continue to directly benefit from youth services, providing them with a place full of opportunities where they can thrive.

KCC has indicated their intention to wait out the ACV moratorium period so they can put the building up for commercial sale, raising concerns about potential redevelopment that could result in the loss of our facilities. Without intervention, the community risks losing a vital youth centre that has served young people since 1969 and leaving Pie without a dedicated base.

We need our local community’s urgent support to advocate for the preservation of Ramsgate Youth Centre for future generations. If enough people speak out, KCC will have to listen.”

A message from East Thanet MP Polly Billington

“Pie Factory Music provides a lifeline to vulnerable young people, offering them a safe space to socialise, express themselves through creativity, and receive vital help and support. Yet such services have been cut to the bone across Kent thanks to fourteen years of Tory austerity, with the predictable result being rising homelessness, knife crime, and antisocial behaviour.

Yet instead of boosting youth services to tackle these urgent problems, Kent County Council is proposing to flog off the Ramsgate Youth Centre and throw Pie Factory Music out on the street.

It is not too late for them to listen to local residents and save this asset of immense community value, by accepting Pie Factory Music’s bid to purchase the Ramsgate Youth Centre. The social impact if they don’t will be devastating for hundreds of families.”

The urgent need

24% of young people say they do not have a safe space where they feel they belong (Onside report 2023)– a side effect of the 73% cut to youth services over the last decade.

Young people spend 85% of their waking hours outside of school (YMCA and National Youth Agency Time’s Running Out report 2021 – without dedicated spaces to go to young people are vulnerable to grooming, crime, social isolation and anti-social behaviour.

Youth work saves £500 million on public spending through crime reduction. £1 investment in youth work is estimated to return £3.20 – £6.40 of social value (UK Youth and Frontier Economics: Economic Value of Youth Work report 2022).

Demand for mental health support has skyrocketed by 82% (National Youth Sector Census 2024) – youth services provide vital preventative intervention: 30% of young people felt more self-confident, 22% felt less isolated; 25% had decreased stress levels, 24% said it helped improve their mental health (YMCA and NYA Time’s Running Out 2021.

Youth club closures have led to young people being 14% more likely to commit crimes and 4% doing worse in exams at age 16 (Institute of Fiscal Studies Report 2024).

Thank you

Your support means everything to us.

We continue to raise funds to purchase the building, with every community donation helping us to get one step closer (we’re applying for large grants to secure the purchase). Find out more and donate at www.justgiving.com/campaign/save-ramsgate-youth-centre

Donate to Save Our Youth Centre

We’ve received news that Kent County Council (KCC) is selling Ramsgate Youth Centre, which has been Pie’s headquarters since 2013, as part of their ongoing effort to raise emergency funds to balance their budget.

This is hard news to share with our young people, and our community, especially after we lost our youth service funding from KCC just six months ago, and with the open-access youth service at the Quarterdeck youth centre in Margate being discontinued.

However, we feel strongly that Ramsgate Youth Centre is Pie’s rightful home and we are determined to keep it. So, we’ve decided to try to buy it.

Save Our Youth Centre campaign

We’re aiming to raise at least £500,000 to purchase the building and carry out major maintenance work to improve the building’s safety*. We’ll do this by applying for capital grants from Trusts and Foundations.

We know our community may not be in a position to donate or give money but every little helps.

How you can support our campaign:

• Donate what you can, if you can.
• Talk about Pie with people you know.
• Advocate for us.
• Share our campaign on your social media channels.

We believe young people deserve better.

Here’s why:

• Every young person should have a good quality of life with equal access to creative opportunities and a community of support.
• Young people are being let down by systematic cuts to provision and safe spaces for them to hang out, be creative, and be themselves.
• With the cuts, young people are at higher risk of loneliness, poor mental health and fear of youth violence or exploitation**.

Our young people tell us that our Youth Centre is a “safe haven”, their “second home” and a place to “make a fresh start”, “make friends” and “find freedom”. It’s where we can catch young people at the early stages of something going wrong in their lives, where we can help or protect them from further harm.

Please share our campaign to #SaveOurYouthCentre and help us to show young people in Thanet that they matter, they deserve better, and that their community cares.

Thank you.

Zoë Carassik
Chief Executive Officer, Pie Factory Music

*This figure is an estimate and encompasses the market value of the property plus speculative costs of some major maintenance works that the building requires to make it watertight and improve safety. Costs could change as the process develops.

** 18% of children in Thanet are living in poverty, and the district has the highest rate of youth unemployment in the South East and one of the highest rates of self-harm among young people.

Get creative and active this July and August, with our programme of sessions and workshops for young people aged 13 – 17 in Thanet.

All our usual sessions are running, plus a range of events, projects and workshops, including:

Workshops

Sports Connect active sessions
Monday 22nd & 29th July, 5th & 12th August (Ramsgate Youth Centre), 2:30 – 5:30pm drop-in

Coming of Age Photography workshop with POW Thanet
Thursday 25th July 10am – 3pm (young women aged 14 – 26). Sign up at info@piefactorymusic.com

Sessions

Chill Summer hangout sessions – relax, meet friends, play games
Thursday 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th August, 2 – 4pm drop-in

Trips

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Expedition

31st July – 2nd August (for DofE participants only)

Events

Ellington Park Ramsgate Wellbeing Day with ACT!
14th August 12 – 3pm drop-in. Location: Park Road, Ramsgate CT11 9TL

NEW Bike Project sessions for adults

Take up or return to cycling with our summer bike sessions, especially for adults.

Learn to Fix
We teach you how to maintain and look after your bike, for a summer of pedal power.
Wednesdays 6 – 8pm 24th July – 28th August, drop-in

Repair Shop
Bring your bike to us and we’ll get it back on the road for you to enjoy cycling again.
Fridays 9:30am – 4pm 26th July & 9th, 16th, 23rd August, drop-in

Open to adults, no experience is necessary. All tools provided, just bring your own bike.

How to join our summer sessions

For drop-in sessions, just turn up. For events and sessions where you need to sign up, young people can register during other session times or by emailing us at info@piefactorymusic.com.

All sessions are at Ramsgate Youth Centre, High St Lawrence Ramsgate, CT11 0QG unless otherwise stated.

Youth sessions

We’re running all of our usual youth sessions in Thanet across the summer including Band Room, Live Room, Bike Project, our Youth Clubs, ACT! social action group and Open Arms.

See what’s on and what you can get involved with.