Teenagers in Surbiton are set to have more to do in 2009, after £30,000 was granted for groups to run events and activities.

The cash comes from the remainder of the council’s neighbourhood budget for last year and has so far been spread between 12 theatre, arts, music and scout groups.

Workshops begin this month for the International Youth Arts Festival, where £4,550 was given for teenagers to learn circus skills, puppet making and carnival performance, with their work being showcased at the Rose Theatre in July.

Theatre group Bounce was given £3,500 to put a show on in September involving people from the Sunray estate. Young people will interview adults in the community, then act out stories from their lives.

The money is hoped to attract new members to clubs and get teenagers off the streets.

Councillor Frances Moseley, who helped allocate the money, said: “We have always recognised that Surbiton doesn’t have many facilities for young people. There’s not much in comparison to the rest of the borough.”

The steering group of Kingston’s patient watchdog is continuing to fight its dismissal by writing a letter to lobby the support of its members.

The entire independent board of K-Link was told it had been removed in January after months of stalemate with Kingston Citizens Advice Bureau (KCAB), the “host” organisation paid to deliver the £102,000 contract.

Kingston Council and Kingston Citizen Advice Bureau, who respectively pay for and administrate K-Link, feel not enough has been done by steering group members to reach out to the community.

But crucially they do not see K-Link, set up to monitor services in health and social care, as a “watchdog”, instead focusing their efforts on increasing involvement from members of the public.

Now, steering group chairman Sandra Berry is writing to its 41 members and other voluntary organisations asking them to lobby KCAB to join them at the negotiating table.

In the letter, Mrs Berry, said KCAB needed persuading that negotiation was the best way to solve the differences.

She wrote: “If you can add to this process of persuasion it would be much appreciated.”

Two councillors, Mary Reid and Paul Johnston, have been nominated by Kingston Council's health overview and scrutiny committee to monitor developments but have so far refused to take sides in the dispute.

Steering group members will carry on meeting in public to investigate catering/nutrition, cleanliness/hygiene, and privacy/dignity in the NHS and social care, despite their official removal.

For more information visit K-Link, the office in Neville House, 55 Eden Street or call 020 8549 6459.

K-Link steering group meetings in 2009 on at various locations: Tuesday, March 3, 3pm to 5pm Thursday, April 2, 10.30am to 12.30pm Tuesday, May 5, 3pm to 5pm Thursday, June 4, 10.30am to 12.30pm Tuesday, July 7, 3pm to 5pm Thursday, August 6, 10.30am to 12.30pm Tuesday, September 1, 3pm to 5pm Thursday, October 1, 10.30pm to 12.30pm Tuesday, November 3, 3pm to 5pm Thursday, December 3, 10.30am to 12.30pm