JULIA SUPPORTS CAMPAIGN TO KEEP SURE START IN CAMBORNE OPEN

3.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 13th Jul 2009

Julia Goldsworthy MP is supporting a campaign to keep Camborne's Sure Start centre open. She visited the centre on Friday and met parents who regularly use the facility on Trevu Road.

Cornwall Council has announced that the centre is earmarked for closure on September 1st with plans to sell the building off to private developers. But parents who use it say that the consultation process started after the "For Sale" signs went up.

Now Julia has written to the Council insisting that it puts the sale on hold until a proper consultation exercise has been undertaken that guarantees parents' views will be taken into account. She said that it was an important facility for local parents and provided much-needed jobs in Camborne.

Julia said: "I visited Sure Start Camborne last week and saw with my own eyes how important it is for parents to be able to access a full range of services from one location. The site on Trevu Road is family-friendly, open all day and always available to parents who need it.

"It provides a range of services, including a venue for social meetings, baby and toddler groups, a breastfeeding service and a café. If this facility is closed, at best all the services it provides will be dispersed all around the area, making life more difficult for local families."

Julia added that the café which runs from the site would also face closure.

"It seems insane that in the middle of a recession, the council is forcing a local business to close down. Surely now is the time to support local businesses and services like this."

She added that the building is part of Camborne's heritage and should not be sold off.

"If the centre closes, another building in Camborne that is important to our heritage could become derelict, another business could close and important local services may be dispersed."

The Council has announced that a consultation will now take place - but Julia insisted that it should not be merely window-dressing.

She said: "A serious consultation must allow some of these crucial issues to be examined in depth. In the mean time, the sale should be put on hold".