Report from the Standard this week;
Westbury councillors have condemned plans to redevelop the town's youth centre. Plans were unveiled earlier this month to redevelop the Westbury Youth Development Centre building to house one of the 20 children's centres planned across the county.
While councillors threw their support behind the proposals for the new service, proposals to redevelop the site in Eden Vale Road have sparked concerns about the future of youth service provision in the town.
At Monday night's meeting of Westbury Town Council, town council representative Charlie Finbow (Con, Westbury Ham) spoke of his fears for what he branded as the "collateral damage for user groups".
He gave the example of Eden Vale Pre-school which has been operating from the building for the last 24 years and now faces an uncertain future with the new academic year looming just two months away.
Cllr Finbow said: "It is my grave concern that if the building is shut in September then the pre-school will go and it will not come back. The damage it will have will be untold."
Cllr Finbow went on to add that it was also traditional for children from the pre-school to go on to attend the infant and later junior school neighbouring the site.
A motion proposed by Cllr Finbow, Cllr Russell Hawker (Ind, Westbury Laverton) and Cllr Mike Hawkins (Con, Westbury Ham) is for a letter to be sent to Wiltshire County Council's director of children and services, highlighting a number of concerns.
These include condemning the proposed closure of Westbury Youth Development Centre from September, without any alternative building for youth services and without consultation.
Councillors also requested an explanation as to why consultation had been avoided and repeated denials made about any plans to close, or redevelop, the youth centre by senior department officers at a meeting last September held to discuss the children's centres.
At the meeting, the Laverton County Council representative, Fleur de Rhe-Philipe (Con, Westbury Laverton and Shearwater), emphasised the youth service will not be lost.
"There has never been any intention to close the youth service, just the building," she said.
She went on to add that the building would need thousands of pounds spent on it to improve the environment including a disabled lift at a cost of £40,000, for which no funds were currently available.
Miss de Rhe-Philipe also pointed out that youth service provision currently reaches 11.2 per cent of 13- to 19-year-olds, of which less than half is through that building.
She also warned councillors not to run the risk of taking any action at the expense of losing the children's centre.
Six councillors voted in favour of accepting the motion with three abstentions.
A letter will now be sent to Wiltshire County Council expressing the concerns of town councillors.
s.palmer@westnews.co.uk
