Sure Start - a personal view

Its seems like the Cranfield Children's Centre  project was going ahead right up to 2 December when Central Beds called off a public meeting due to a snowfall. After that it concluded that it was time-out and the scheme was going elsewhere. Ms Lewis has mentioned budgetary constraints but clearly this move didn’t save any money – it just reallocated it at the last possible moment – to other projects waiting in the wings. I am extremely concerned that closeness to residential properties has been cited as an objection – especially as this had not got to the stage of a planning application. The centre would be on the school footprint and, as far as I know, nobody objects to the school.

Our village is already struggling to obtain many of the benefits promised from the Home Farm development – a health centre and proper playing space for the Lower School for instance. It lost funding for a purpose built pre-school several years ago and there are more public transport and mobile library cuts coming. Now a lot of work to establish valuable facilities for very young children, who would benefit greatly, has been lost. We seem to be going backwards.

Falling at the last hurdle

Lead story in February 2011 Cranfield Express 

Ambitious plans for a top of the range Sure Start children’s centre in Cranfield have come to nothing. But explanations vary about why it has not gone ahead. Meanwhile the money for the centre has gone to Leighton Buzzard and Houghton Regis.

Governors and staff at Cranfield Lower School, the proposed site, have been working on the proposal for over a year.

Sure Start aims to give children the best possible start in life through the improvement of childcare, early education, health and family support, with an emphasis on outreach and community development. The programme is now described as Sure Start Children’s Centres and it is run by local councils.

There are already a few Sure Start sessions at Cranfield Lower School on Mondays, and Tuesday - story and rhyme and make and bake with other sessions at the Methodist Church and the Scout Hut. The proposed new centre would have greatly expanded these valuable activities and given them a permanent home.

But Cranfield Parish Council was told in December: “The money for a Childrens’ Centre has been diverted as it was considered that the proposed site is too near to residential properties. No planning application has been forthcoming for the Centre.”

Yet a consultation meeting was due to be held in Cranfield just two weeks earlier and was called off by Central Beds because of the weather at the last minute.

Cllr Anita Lewis, portfolio holder for children’s services, in response to questions I asked has written:

“It seems that during last summer there were a number of delays about design of the children's centre. I am told that the school wished for some things to be changed and requested a full consultation with all partners, which inevitably cost time.

“The planners then expressed concern and asked for alternative positions on the site for the building to be considered. This was difficult because it impacted on sports fields, which gave problems with Sport England.

“Next the meeting that was planned to do the final agreement with partners was cancelled due to snow. It transpired that it would not have been possible to get this project through planning in time to develop the children's centre. In short, just as the contract was about to go forward we entered our spending freeze.

“The Government then signalled that such monies really ought to be spent on deprived areas.

“In terms of policy the money allocated went to the deprived areas of Tithe Farm Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard which is exactly where the Government is pressing that children's centre money should have been spent in the first place.

“I am sad that this is the outcome as far as Cranfield is concerned.

“Your unitary councillors will be able to explain to you why it is no longer possible to find any money for the Cranfield children's centre andtTo explain the budget restraints that Central Beds Council is experiencing.”

I can confirm, after speaking to Central Beds this week that funding is in place for the next financial year for the existing Sure Start facilities.

Paul Rossiter, chair of governors at the Lower School commented: “The governors, management and staff at Cranfield Lower School are all extremely disappointed at the decision to withdraw capital funding for the new Cranfield Children's Centre building due to be located on our playing field. The new building would have enabled a significant increase in the services available to our village and the opportunity for pre-school children to adjust to their first school.

“I am pleased that it has been possible for us to find space within the school to enable the existing Sure Start services to remain and we will continue to support their activities for the benefit of the village, in the hope that the central funding of this unit will remain in place.”