West Berkshire children's centres under threat in £11m budget cut proposals

Children's centres help families with parenting support, health and social care issues

Four children's centres are under threat in West Berkshire as the council looks to save £11m in the next year.

It also intends to halve the funding for both children's and adolescent mental health services as well as its healthy eating programme in schools.

In addition, there are plans to increase parking charges and slash the road maintenance budget.

The council said central government had reduced its budget by £23m over the past four years.

'Difficult conversations'

West Berkshire Council revealed the scale of its proposed cuts as it launched a public consultation.

Among the measures it wants to shut four of its ten children's centres - in South Thatcham, Greenham, Pangbourne and Calcot - with the buildings transferred to the schools they are located in.

The council is also looking to scrap funding for CCTV cameras.

At the moment it pays for the cameras to be monitored by the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead but is now asking Thames Valley Police and the relevant parishes to fund them.

The roads maintenance budget will be slashed by £500,000 and funding for a number of bus services will be reduced or withdrawn.

School crossing patrols - or lollipop men and ladies - will be axed across the district in the proposals.

The consultation will run until Monday, 14 December with a final decision on the budget for next year being made at a council meeting on 1 March.

Chief Executive Nick Carter said: "Unfortunately, it's no longer possible to keep finding savings without looking at some of the services our communities value most of all.

"These will be difficult conversations to begin with our communities, but the reality of the situation is that if we're to live within our means we cannot keep doing everything we currently do."