CHILDREN’S services may well continue to operate out of Whitehill and Bordon despite the upcoming “closure” of the Chase Children’s Centre, according to district and county councillor Adam Carew.

Hampshire County Council has decided to go ahead with plans to develop a new family-support service, which will see the withdrawal of services from the Chase Children’s Centre in Budds Lane, Bordon.

This “modernisation” will save £8.5million and will see children’s centres, early help hubs and youth-support budgets rolled into a single service.

They will no longer be provided from the Chase Children’s Centre or from Petersfield Health Centre, leaving Alton’s Bushy Leaze as the family-support service “hub” for all of East Hampshire – one of just 11 across the whole county.

The Chase is set to be retained for community use, but there is currently no clear picture of exactly what will be provided there.

The centre closures are in response to a funding shortfall of £98m by April 2017.

Having criticised the plans, which will mean families travelling from the Liphook area to Alton for the services - as neither “realistic or reasonable” – Mr Carew said the door remained open for some children’s services to stay in the town.

He said: “Although the new family hub would be in Alton, nothing has been decided about the future of the Chase Children’s Centre building.”

He met Keith Mans, Hampshire cabinet member for children’s services, and suggested given public-transport issues the county council examined new ways of centre management and service provision, involving local schools and/or Home-Start WeyWater which works to support lower income families in the district.