Parents say they’re angry after finding out that Cradley Heath and Old Hill Children’s centre will close in the spring despite being told by management it would remain open.

Sandwell Council will not be renewing the lease in March on the Valley Road building which houses the popular centre which provides vital services for the community. Parents, who take their children to various groups and healthcare sessions, were left bereft when told of the planned closure. Katie Harris, a mother from Cradley Heath, said:

"I use the children's centre every week, the kids, and parents benefit from this centre, these early years, having fun and experiencing life and meeting people is really important.

"If councils were not so incompetent maybe we would not be losing all the services over the West Midlands like leisure centres, museums, libraries, children's centres. I would laugh about all the talk of making Britain great again, if it wasn't so tragic."

Councillor Simon Hackett, cabinet member for children’s services promised services would still be available for Cradley Heath families. He said:

"I want to reassure parents and carers these services are not going, we are just looking for somewhere else to run the children's centre from.

"Massive government cuts have meant we need to look carefully at our budgets and paying high rent is simply not the best use of our money. With lower running costs we would hope to run better services for families in the area from an alternative building."

He added: "I will be meeting with parents and carers to reassure them the children's centre will continue to operate. I will discuss with parents where the centre should be located to enable them to continue to benefit from the valuable services they currently get at Cradley Heath Children’s Centre."