A CHILDREN’s centre in Cricklade for new mums could be closed and moved into community buildings to save money.

The centre, run by the Rise Trust on the grounds of St Sampson's Infant School, provides sensory sessions, midwife-led clinics, and a breast feeding support group for mums with children under five.

But Wiltshire Council is aiming to save £250,000 by closing six of the current 17 centres across the county and plans to continue running the children’s services from existing community buildings, including libraries, community halls and leisure centres.

In 2016 the number of children’s centres was reduced from 30 to 17.

The new proposal will see it cut further down to 11, meaning new mums needing extra support have to travel to access services or can have outreach teams visit them.

Councillor for Cricklade Bob Jones told the Adver he was against the proposal, which could see mums in the town travelling to Royal Wootton Bassett for extra help.

He said: “Volunteers from the centre have already come to the town council to put their case as to why it should stay open, and it's very compelling. It should not be closed. Wiltshire Council is arguing it will put money into resources but not into buildings.

“But those will be in Royal Wootton Bassett and there are no public transport connections for those families.

“They are generally less well off and need support from the community, so sending them there is not a good thing. It will be a detriment to the most vulnerable in our society as usual.

“The cost of running the building is not that high, and the volunteers are very keen to take on much of the work.”

Speaking at the children’s select committee, councillor for Purton Jacqui Lay added: “I know that in my area residents cannot access Royal Wootton Bassett or Cricklade service centres, so they have the services come out to them.”

Although she thought village halls could benefit from being used by other groups she had concerns the rural areas will get missed.

She said: “I would like know how this models is working to see how it is covering outreach areas. Many of my residents didn’t know what the service was.”

The centres facing closure are in Cricklade, Pewsey, Mere, Salisbury City, Trowbridge Longfield and Westbury White Horse.

A decision will be made once the consultation closes today. The centre could be given notice to close as soon as July 2019.

  • An image shared with an earlier version of this article incorrectly identified as the children's centre a building currently used by after school club Smart Zone. The after school club, Smart Zone, is not closing. The Advertiser is happy to make this clarification.