Recession causes closure of Felpham creche

A mother has spoken of her dismay at the closure of a Felpham creche.

The childcare facility at the Arun Leisure Centre shut on Good Friday. It has been running since the centre opened in 1978.

Nina Phillips said the ability to leave her two-year-old son, Stanley Phillips, where she went to keep fit was a major factor in her decision to become a member of the centre's Tone Zone gym.

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"I go nearly every day to the gym and take Stanley with me three times a week on Mondays, Thursdays and Friday," she said.

"I joined the gym in January knowing I would be able to do that.

"Stanley goes to one of the 90-minute sessions between 9.15am and 12.15pm in the creche.

"He loves going there. He really enjoys it.

"The staff read to him and he gets to go in the soft play area as well as mix with other children, which is important.

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"I am going to have to leave the gym now the creche is closing.

"It's not practical to take him somewhere else and then go to

the leisure centre and it would cost too much to have someone else look after him.

"The closure is not helping parents to lead a healthy lifestyle by keeping fit."

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Part-time airline worker Nina, 36, of Orchard Way, said she was angry none of the creche's users were consulted about the closure.

She claimed talks were held only with the staff.

She became aware when one of the employees told her the bad news.

"It costs 2.70 to use the creche for one session," she stated.

"That's excellent value and I would certainly have been prepared to pay more, but I was never given

the choice.

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"The creche only takes up a small amount of room close to the entrance to the centre so I don't think it could be used for much else."

Leisure centre manager Tom McMutrie said: "After reviewing the provision of the creche over the past few years, it is unfortunate we have decided to close this facility.

"None of the parties involved in this process wanted to come to this decision. However, acting now will enable us to continue to provide other high-quality leisure facilities across the Arun district."

The leisure centre was originally run by Arun District Council which handed over day-to-day control to the Inspire Leisure trust in April 2006.

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It decided to close the creche after the cost of its seven staff, its biggest expense, rocketed to 1,137 per cent of its income, which has not been disclosed by the trust.

Two of the employees have opted to leave. The rest have been found alternative roles with the trust.

Another factor in the closure was the tough general economic conditions causing the number of children using the creche to slump to just two a session.

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