Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Children’s centres facing axe in huge ‘blow’ for families
Anguish as ‘lifeline’ services could be cut
Five children’s centres in the Canterbury district providing vital services to families are under threat of closure by Kent Council Council, which says it cannot afford to maintain them. The centres in Canterbury, Hersden, Chartham, Seasalter and Swalecliffe offer a range of support for children aged up to five years and their parents. They are among 35 facing the chop county-wide.
The authority says they need £165 million in maintenance work, which it cannot afford. The services offered at the centres include health support and mental wellbeing for mums and babies, breast-feeding help, educational play sessions, advice for managing food budgets and healthy eating recipes.
The loss of the Riverside children’s centre in Canterbury would be “disastrous” for families, says Labour city councillor Mel Dawkins.
“This is extremely worrying because we are talking about the development of children at a critical time in their lives,” she said.
“If this centre and others are closed, it will be a massive blow for the families for whom it is a lifeline. I am just not confident that level of support can be replicated in other settings. “The Riverside is an excellent, multi-purpose building and perfect for the role it has. “You also have to factor in the cost and repercussions of this support not being availa
ble close to where families who need it live.”
Cllr Dawkins says she and other Labour members will be starting a campaign calling for a rethink from KCC bosses. The venues under threat in the Canterbury district are Riverside Children’s Centre, Northgate; Swalecliffe Children’s Centre; Joy Lane Children’s Centre, Seasalter; Tina Rintol Children’s Centre, Hersden; Apple Tree Children’s Centre, Chartham; the Northgate Hub for adults with disabilities. Mum-of-two Hetty Genower, 38, credits both the Joy Lane and Swalecliffe centres with providing her with huge support. “I found the services they offered me invaluable when I have two children just 14 months apart.
“I don’t think I would have been as successful as a parent as I am now without their support. “A sure-fire way of isolating mums when they are vulnerable is to close centres like this. It simply can’t happen.” KCC has announced it is reviewing and consulting on the services the centres offer to see how any closures would affect users.
The Riverside was previously threatened with closure in 2018 in a KCC cost-cutting plan and only saved in a last-minute u-turn by the authority following uproar by hundreds of families and lobbying from the city council.
Speaking on the latest proposals, KCC leader Cllr Roger Gough says: “The changes would mean we would have a more manageable and affordable number of buildings across Kent, which would help us to continue providing services for people in a variety of ways.” He says the council has to safeguard itself against rising costs but the review also gives the authority the chance to assess alternatives and examine if services are in the right place. “Residents value our community services and change is difficult,” he said. “However, we do need to look to adapt and evolve to make the best use of the resources and funding we have available and safeguard against rising costs.” View the consultation and comment at kent.gov.uk/communityservicesconsultation.
‘A sure-fire way of isolating mums when they are vulnerable is to close centres...’