Lammas Park another victim of council cuts

A popular children's play centre which has proved to be a lifeline for many parents is threatened with closure.

The free drop-in centre in Lammas Park is one of many services Ealing council says will have to be cut in a bid to balance the books.

It's provided childrens' facilities in the park for many years but because of a restructuring in the play service staff will lose their jobs and the centre likely to shut.

Mary Horesh is mum of two and regularly uses the centre. She says:

'' With a 5 month baby and a 3 year old I really appreciate the flexibility of the Lammas Park play centre as it is open Tuesday until Saturday with no set classes so we can drop by when it suits our schedule, compared to the other children’s centres which are not as accessible.

'' The Lammas play centre has enthusiastic staff and I can always rely on them making the most of the resources available to them. Every day I know there will be a new activity or craft that my child can engage in.''

She says closing the centre will deprive preschool children of access to learning through play, as well as isolating parents, carers and children of a place to socialise and gather.

A petition has been set up urging Ealing Council review their proposals - the online version  has already attracted over 300 names.

Suggested alternatives to closure are:

  1. Charging an entry fee

  2. Sharing the site with a nursery or play school

  3. Reducing opening hours to cover the peak use times (as happened with libraries)

  4. Setting up a volunteer rota

Ms Horesh says: ''I am sure there are other options as well that could be considered by the council as it will be tragic to lose such a flagship service in Ealing.'' 

An Ealing Council spokesperson said: '' Councillors will consider proposals to delete the posts of support staff post working at the centre. As the play space will continue to be available we would be interested to have discussions with interested parties who have ideas on how this resource could be used.''

See petition here:   http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lammas-play-centre-proposed-closure

27th November 2014