Campaigning mothers tell of travel woes as Dudley children's centres reduction announced
All aboard to the children's centres – or maybe not according to campaigning mothers who say they will be struggling to squeeze onto buses to ferry them around Dudley.
The buggy brigade turned out in force to make their point to Dudley Council chiefs.
The local authority has announced a controversial shake-up of children's centres, which means reducing the number from 20 to 13.
And mothers say they have been told if their site shuts they could catch a bus to the next nearest centre.
They claim the move would cost them at least £20 extra a week putting a squeeze on family budgets and say buses only allow two pushchairs on at a time.
Some of the seven centres which face the axe include Kingswinford and Wall Health, Hob Green, in Pedmore, and Quarry Bank.
At the moment there are 20 centres split over five clusters, including two in Dudley and one each in Brierley Hill, Stourbridge and Halesowen.
Under the new plans there will be four hub centres in Brierley Hill, Kate's Hill, Wrens Nest and the Butterfly centre in Lye where all staff will be based.
The nine remaining centres would become 'satellites', operating fewer services for less time with no permanent reception.
Campaigner Heather Chaslin, aged 36, of Birchfield Road, Wollescote, has two children, Marley, aged one, and six-year-old Rowan, and uses Hob Green Children's Centre in Wollescote.
She says families would face walks of more than 20 minutes uphill with pushchairs in all weathers if they could not afford the bus.
"They just don't get it. We can't all get the bus as many just couldn't afford it. It would be at least £4 or £5 a day then there are children coming out of school at different times," she said.
Officials want to close the seven centres to save the cash-strapped council £2.3m.
Children's services chief Councillor Tim Crumpton has previously said the proposals to close the centres were not 'set in stone'.
