Pie Factory Music fights to save Ramsgate home
I spoke to the CEO of Ramsgate-based Youth Service Zoë Carassik about the threat it faces after Kent County Council marked the building it has occupied for over a decade as one to put up for sale. Pie wants to buy the building itself but the council did not take forward a proposal the service put forward….
For over 23 years, Pie Factory Music has worked with young people in Ramsgate, and for more than ten of those it has operated out of Ramsgate Youth Centre. However, in April 2024, the charity - along with youth services across Thanet - saw its funding cut by Kent County Council. It was then told that the building it calls home would be put up for sale.
“We've moved before,” says CEO Zoë Carassik. “We could move again. But for me, it's the symbolism of the fact that this building was built in 1969 as a youth centre. You're talking about generations of lives, of stories, of experiences and memories that would just disappear.
“This is the last dedicated, purpose built youth centre in our district,” she adds. “I think it would be a travesty if this was lost.”
The charity hopes to buy the building itself, allowing it to continue to offer a wide range of services, from recording sessions for budding musicians to free counselling. However, despite launching a campaign to raise £500,000 to fund the purchase, the council plans to put the building up for auction later this year.