Children’s centres facing closure


CHILDREN’s centres at Loose and Marden could be axed in a major shake-up by Kent County Council. The council, which is proposing to close


23 out of 97 centres throughout the county, said: “In the current economic climate effi- ciency savings must be made.” The closures would save at least £1.5 mil-


lion in the next financial year while main- taining wide coverage across the country and continued access to a nearby service for those who need it most, said a spokesman. “It is therefore proposed to close some centres. These will be centres which serve areas that require less of our support, cur- rently deliver limited services from the building, already act as a signposting facil-


MAIDSTONE Hockey Club members came to- gether for a night of celebration to recognise award winners for the season. Awardswere presentedby the club chairman,


Roger Daniels, and the twohockey managers– Wendy Emery and Matt Evans. The Clubpersonof theYearAwardwas shared


between Louise Cassey and Jimmy Christmas, who are pictured right. Other awardswent to: Ladies’ player of the year: Jenny Vincent Men’s player of the year: Nick Leatherbarrow Ladies’ most improved player: EmmaWaters Men’s most improved player: James Beacon Ladies’ young player of the year: Emily Beacon Men’s young player of the year: Rob Clarkson Ladies’ most goals: Brogan Cummins Men’smost goals: NigelSwaffer and Iain Brine Individual team players of the yearwent to:


Ladies’ 2nds: Donna Shalders Ladies’ 3rds: Jaime Cronk Ladies’ 4ths: Corrie Piper Men’s 2nds: Mike Smith Men’s 3rds: Nick Cornford Men’s 4ths: Chris Smith Men’s 5ths: Dominic Angear Men’s 6ths: Simon Emery Men’s 7ths: Jason Dann


ity for services delivered elsewhere or those where most of the families using them also use other children’s centres nearby which will remain open, “ said KCC. Sixteen larger units would be turned into


lead centres known as Children’s Centre Plus, and would work with GPs, schools, health visitors and other organisations. Loose andMarden are both part-time, and


are considered to serve areas where fewer children and families need support. Loose centre, based in the pavilion in


Walnut Tree Lane,was used by 394 children during the 12 months starting in October 2012, of whom 30% only went to this cen- tre and only 1%were frequent users. At Marden, 310 children attended the


Hockey club gathers to present awards


centre next door to the primary school dur- ing the same period, with 35% only using this site and 1%attending frequently. The council said it would continue to support centres in communities of high need and those which arewell used by fam- ilies. It has launched a 12-week consulta- tion, which closes on Friday, October 4, to get the views of parents and the community. A decision is expected in December, with changes starting to take place next April. County Cllr Jenny Whittle, KCC cabinet member for specialist children’s services, said: “The usage of the centres we propose to close is either at a low level or themajor- ity of users are also using another centre nearby which we do not propose to close.”


Community clean-up


VOLUNTEERS from Ringlestone, St Faith’s Church and the Jubilee Church filled more than 50 bags of litter and green waste dur- ing a community litter pick. A highlight of the event for the many chil-


dren who took part was the discovery of a slow worm. The reptile is legally protected, and some of the children constructed a shel- ter for it from a heap of vegetation. Cllr Tony Harwood, who organised the equipment and collection of the bags, said: “This was a great afternoon’s work clearing areas which are not normally cleared by ei- therMaidstone or Kent County Council.” The community association is holding an-


other litter pick in Ringlestone from 2.30- 4.30pm on Sunday, August 4. For more information, call Fran Butler on 01622 765729. Gloves and pickers will be provided.


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