TEENAGERS are to have a voice in the future of their area following the establishment of a youth council.

The new organisation received the backing of Richmondshire District Council, which praised young people for their hard work in setting up the project.

The youth council will feed young people's views to local authorities and other organisations, allow youngsters to take an active role in the community, help with youth events and projects and help distribute information to young people.

A draft constitution was agreed and the youth council, for people aged 13 to 19, will meet for the first time on Wednesday, and then on the first Wednesday of each month.

The idea grew from the district council's youth strategy, published in 2005, which identified teenagers as a "hard-to-reach" group of residents.

Groups of young people, including representatives from the district's four secondary schools, have met monthly since October last year to discuss how a youth council would operate.

Councillor Sheila Clarke, the district council's member champion for young people, told the authority on Tuesday: "I welcome the setting up of the youth council. It is a forward-looking idea and it is in good hands because they (the young people involved) are a bright lot, diverse and with loads of different interests and ideas."

The youth council has no budget, but it is hoped that a £10,000 grant will come from the North Yorkshire County Council's 4Youth service.