THERE is concern in Crediton for the future of town's Children's Centre at Newcombes, as Devon County Council begins a public consultation on proposals to re-think the way Children's Centre services are delivered across the county. The county council, which is preparing to cut £1.2 million from the service budget, says a proposal to re-tender children's centre contracts, based on Devon's eight district/city council boundaries, aims to help reduce management and administration costs whilst protecting local services targeting those most in need and in rural communities. Children's centre services are currently delivered out of 34 Devon County Council-owned buildings (one being the site at Newcombes, Crediton), as well as a range of community and health sites. The county council says there is no longer a requirement for it to have a specific number of centres, explaining that funding it allocates could be used, as it says: "more creatively to deliver services rather than being spent on buildings". It says proposals it is considering would mean it could continue to provide a number of children's centres in each area whilst ensuring more outreach services are made available in rural areas. A number of Crediton parents say they fear that the town and area could see the Crediton centre close and the only future provision being outreach services. The county council says such outreach services could be delivered from a variety of locations and community buildings, in partnership with other local service providers such as health, adult learning and Job Centre Plus. It adds that the review and consultation also aims to encourage local schools and pre-schools to explore opportunities to expand their accommodation to provide much-needed places for vulnerable two-year-olds. It hopes buildings linked to or on school sites that are currently under-used could be transferred to other organisations, including schools, to deliver daily activities for pre-school children. If the proposals before the county council are agreed, they will be applied to each area as the existing contracts come up for renewal over the next three years, beginning this year in North Devon. Announcing the review, Councillor James McInnes, cabinet member with responsibility for Children and Young People's Services, said: "We know that children's centres and associated services are vitally important to help support families across Devon. "We remain fully committed to delivering high quality, multi-agency services for children under five and particularly to those families in greatest need. "And we will continue to support the delivery of local services, either directly from children's centres or through a range of outreach services. "But, given the current financial situation things simply can't stay the same and we have to think again about the best way to provide this support to families for less money. "Clearly some efficiencies can be made in the way we contract for these services but this review offers a genuine opportunity not only to protect children's centres into the future but also to redesign current services to better meet local needs across the county, including in rural areas. "I would encourage everyone to give us their views and to put forward their own ideas or suggestions on how best we can continue to provide and improve these important services." A series of meetings for parents and users of Children's Centre services to have their say have been arranged. In addition, 12 public meetings for any individual who has an interest in Children's Centres have been arranged and will take place across the county. Locally, on Tuesday, May 6, there will be meetings held at the Fox and Hounds, Eggesford, near Chulmleigh from 10am to 12 noon and on Thursday, May 8 from 10am to 12 noon at Holsworthy Memorial Hall. The meeting specifically for Mid Devon, which includes Crediton, will be held on Thursday, May 22 at Cullompton Community Centre, Cullompton, from 2pm to 4pm. Full details of the proposals and consultation events can be found at: http://www.devon.gov.uk/toughchoices">www.devon.gov.uk/toughchoices . If you would like to attend one of these meetings, please book a place by contacting Julie Welland on 01392 383000 or email: [email protected]">[email protected] . The consultation will end by June 6, 2014. A final recommendation on the future of the service will be considered by Devon County Council's Cabinet on July 9. • Do you have a view about the future of the Children's Centre in Crediton? Share your views with fellow Courier readers – email a letter to: [email protected]">[email protected] .