CHILDREN’s centres in Trowbridge, Bradford on Avon, Melksham and Warminster are under threat, under new Wiltshire Council proposals announced on Tuesday.

Bellefield and Longfield children’s centre in Trowbridge, Bradford on Avon Children’s Centre, Happy Feet in Warminster and Kings Park in Melksham are among 13 centres countywide under threat from the proposals, which come in a bid to save £400,000, as the current £4m budget for children’s centres is being cut by 10 per cent.

Staff currently working within centres will be expected to deliver more support in the community, where a number of children’s centre services are already provided.

In Trowbridge, the chairman of Longmeadow Tenants and Residents Association James McDonald said: “I think it would be seriously wrong to stop using Longfield.

"It has only been open for a few years and lots of different groups use the building.

“It would be detrimental to the community as a whole. I have seen the work that they do in the community helping a lot of parents with young children and I think there would be uproar if they go ahead with these proposals.

“Trowbridge is growing and we need more provision, not less. It is easy for them to say they can go to another children’s centre, but not everyone can travel easily and this is a deprived area.”

Stepping Stones Centre, which offers care and education for children with special needs, and is one of three tenants based at Longfield’s Children Centre, has confirmed that it will not be affected by the proposals as the building itself will not be closing.

The council has begun a consultation on a plan that from July 2016, children’s centre staff will be based in one of 15 key buildings in four geographical clusters (North, East, South and West Wiltshire).

The decision on which children’s centre buildings will continue operating as they are will be based on the area’s level of deprivation, the number of children under five, the suitability of current buildings services and the potential to expand childcare provision.

This week Cllr Laura Mayes, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We already know delivering these key services is not about the buildings but about the teams and partnership working and we already have good examples of successful services being delivered in different venues including libraries and village halls.

“When we asked both professionals and parents they said the most important thing is partnership working and that they have support when they need it.

“We’re now looking at a fresh approach to delivering these key services by going out more into the heart of the community and we’d like to hear from people on these proposals.

“We are committed to providing our children and families with the right care and support and we understand having involvement with families from the very beginning is extremely important.”

The council's plan is that vacant space at the 13 centres will be used to provide space for the development of more childcare places ahead of government plans to extend free childcare.

The review comes as contracts for the four current providers, 4 Children, Barnardo’s, Spurgeons and The Rise Trust end in June 2016.

Wiltshire Council has launched the consultation to allow communities to have their say on how support and advice for children in their early years is delivered as part of a wider review of children’s centre services.

It will run until November 6 and a decision about the future delivery of children’s centre services will be taken by Wiltshire Council Cabinet in November 2015.

People can make their views known on the consultation document and can contribute to the consultation by going to http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wiltshirechildrenscentressurvey.htm