WILTSHIRE Council has upheld a ‘horrific’ decision to close two activity centres in Wiltshire because outdoor education is ‘not a priority’ for its children’s services.

Staff, town councillors and parents came together to make an impassioned plea for councillors to investigate why their beloved centres were being forced to close, which Wiltshire Council rejected.

Last Week's announcement to close Braeside in Devizes and Oxenwood in Marlborough caused widespread shock and sparked a petition that has now gained over 14,100 signatures.

Liberal Democrat councillor and chairman of the Children’s Select Committee Cllr Jon Hubbard decided to ‘call in’ the decision made behind closed doors at a private cabinet meeting on April 5.

However the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee voted eight to five (with one abstention) to reject the claim that the decision had not been made fairly.

Cllr Hubbard said: “What is fair about a decision where the people who run the facilities are not given the opportunity to contribute towards the decision to close them? Where the users and stakeholders are excluded from the decision making process. There was nothing fair and open about this decision.”

Children, Education and Skills cabinet member Cllr Laura Mayes highlighted that just 30 per cent of schools in Wiltshire now use either site and said: "We reviewed all our services and decided on three priorities: to ensure there are enough school places, to protect the most vulnerable children and to tackle academic performance. These sites are simply not a priority. The closures won't cause a detrimental effect because there are other centres for children to go to, as 70 per cent of schools do currently.

“Outdoor education will continue for Wiltshire children. We know what our priorities are and this is not one for Wiltshire Council.”

Reacting to the decision, Cllr Hubbard said: “It is a horrific decision to make. What we have seen today is not democracy in action.

“In terms of Wiltshire’s priorities, small scale outdoor centres offer a viable choice for vulnerable children compared to larger services where they will be with hundreds or other children and find scary.

“And for the priority of raising standards we only have to look at the Gifted and Talented scheme to see that it drives rising standards.”

Councillors also debated whether the site was ‘massively dilapidated’ and would have been in need of £1.4m worth of investment to continue operating.

Any charities or external companies that are interested in keeping the sites open as activity centres have until April 24, or 11 working days, to submit a business case to the council, which said it would consider all serious bids to keep the centres open.

Devizes town councillor Judy Rose said: “The town council was not consulted about this decision and believe due process has not been followed by Wiltshire Council. I am extremely concerned this is not about saving money but about stripping assets, as these sites could provide financial gain if sold. The site was never included in the Neighbourhood Plan and would not be considered."

Cllr Mayes confirmed that no discussions had taken place about the sale of the area for other business or development.

She added that the meeting had not taken place in public because of the risk of job loses for staff involved in the potential closure. However the opposition warned that using the sensitivity around staff member’s jobs as a reason to make decisions in private meetings closed to public and press was a dangerous precedent to set.

The council claimed that staff knew that there was a possibility of closure during the 18 month consultation period, something that staff have rejected.

Braeside staff member Lisa Jones has been working at the site for 18 months and said: “If there was any doubt that the centre would shut in the future I wouldn’t have taken the job in the first place. The first thing we knew about it was the day after the decision was made. We were shocked because the centre runs so well.”