Shropshire Star

Rural areas 'punished' by Shropshire children's centres cuts

The county's rural areas are being "punished" by Shropshire Council which plans to withdraw services at 20 children's centres, according to a councillor.

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Jonny Keeley, councillor for Bishop's Castle, said that Crowgate Child Centre in the town would potentially be forced to close, as the authority plans to withdraw its services from the building.

He said: "Shropshire Council could stop using half of the centre which I understand will put unsustainable pressure on the building as a whole. Essentially causing it to potentially close.

"I should add that this is not a direct intention of the new delivery model but a more complex cause of its implementation."

Shropshire Council plans to save £875,000 by reducing the services from 26 different buildings to six in a ‘new delivery model’ for Early Help services.

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The Early Help Family Hubs proposed to be retained are at Richmond House in Shrewsbury, Crowmoor in Shrewsbury, The Centre in Oswestry, Rockspring Community Centre in Ludlow and one in Whitchurch and one in Bridgnorth at locations yet to be identified.

The services are intended to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for all children under five and their families. They include coffee mornings, drop-in sessions and social events.

Now the plan aims to support a wider range of children and young people up to the age of 19, and up to 25 for those with disabilities or a special educational need.

But Councillor Keeley has said that Bishop's Castle should be one of the chosen areas for services to be retained.

He said: "This is not unreasonable, Bishop's Castle is a long way from anywhere and serves many villages around it.

"Expecting young mothers and fathers to travel on buses with children, and in some cases babies is unfair. Considering most people are very happy with the great service they get at Crowgate.

"I absolutely recognise the challenges that Shropshire Council faces, I also see the good intentions behind this new model.

"However, I don’t think it has been formed with severely rural areas in mind and I will be making the point that concessions should be made.

"Otherwise once again we are to be punished for our rurality and our strong community."

There will be a small number of compulsory redundancies across the county if the plan goes ahead, along with voluntary redundancies.

Among centres facing closure are those at Ellesmere Primary, Market Drayton’s Longlands, Market Drayton Infants, St Peters in Wem, Baschurch Village Hall, Morda Primary and Oswestry’s Woodside Primary.

The report will go to cabinet next week, and if approved, the more specific plan will go out to consultation at the end of May.