Last-ditch attempt to save Peterborough children's centres fails

The Conservative-led council’s cabinet approved plans to close eight of the city’s 15 children’s centres earlier this month, agreeing that the use of the buildings will be offered to schools and childcare professionals.

The remaining children’s centres will be turned into three outreach centres and four universal "super hubs", where families will be able to access a range of services, including health, education and funding.

The decision to go ahead with the plans, which will save £1.2m annually, came under fire from campaigners and a group of councillors who tried to block the cabinet's decision.

The council’s scrutiny committee examined their bid last week, before voting to refer the issue to the full council. But at an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, councillors voted 26 to 23 against referring the decision back to the cabinet for a revote.

Ed Murphy, a Labour and Co-operative councillor, who has campaigned against the plans, put forward an alternative budget which he said would have saved the city’s children’s centres.

He said: “I think it’s absolutely disgraceful that the council has failed to take on board an alternative budget, savings and efficiencies, and ways to keep the centres open.

“They’ve failed to balance the books because they were spending the money on strange projects – I asked them to stop cutting the trees every other year and I also suggested the council stopped paying cabinet large allowances.

“Members of the public are devastated.”

Councillor Sheila Scott, cabinet member for children’s services, defended the decision and said there were “no realistic alternatives”.

She said: “The proposals we have put forward will make sure that families will still be able to access services from children’s centres in Peterborough with those who are the most vulnerable being our priority.

“These changes have partly been driven by overall cuts in government funding and partly by a change in what the government is making money available for in the first place.

“This is no different to difficult decisions being made by every other council across the country.

“We all have to rethink, quite radically, what local government can do for people and what areas people are going to have to do much more for themselves with our support.”