Kent council debate future of 'vital' family hub

Councillors will debate the future of Seashells Children and Families Centre on Thursday

Kent County Council (KCC) will hold a debate on the future of Seashells Children and Families Centre in Sheerness on Thursday.

The local authority said it needed to close the service as part of wider budget cuts to balance its books.

Critics of the closure said it was a "vital lifeline" for families in the area.

A petition in support of keeping it open has attracted more than 6,000 signatures, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mike Whiting, an independent councillor representing the Isle of Sheppey, urged the council not to cut the "precious resource", which he said was used by 1,900 families last year.

He added Seashells "means so much to many disadvantaged families. It is a vital lifeline for the current generation, as it was for the last".

No decision is expected to be made on Seashell's future at the debate on Thursday, but the council meeting would hear opinions on the matter.

• 'Difficult decisions' ahead, warns Kent County Council

KCC claimed the closure of Seashells - along with the Millmead Children's Centre in Margate - would shave around £425,000 off its budget.

The local authority said it needed to find savings of more than £100m in the coming years.

The same services were available elsewhere locally, it added.