Crowborough parents say they are being “short-changed” by the county council on family support and youth services.
Young families and community volunteers said while East Sussex County Council has five youth hubs and 11 family hubs – none are in the Crowborough area.
The hubs run groups, courses and activities for families, including drop-in play groups, parenting classes, health, exercise and nutrition, as well as a range of advice services. It’s a similar situation for young people where the youth hubs provide advice as well as social activities.
And it’s not just a lack of centres. A look at the weekly set of activities for families in the High Weald area reveals one Baby Group in Crowborough – no Stay & Play groups, no Music Groups, and no Discovery Tots. Meanwhile Heathfield has three groups during the week while Uckfield has four.
The situation has angered one young mum, Mel Smith. She said: “I totally get that there are areas where families have less so need more support, but there seems to be a perception that there’s no need in Crowborough.
“Even if there is less need here, it doesn’t mean there’s none. And we pay our council tax for council services like everyone else. And the argument that family hubs are only for deprived areas falls down when you realise Lewes has one.”
Mum of two toddlers, Ms Smith said the county council could not use the excuse of no family hub building for the lack of activities. “They have a library building, they have school buildings, we have a very affordable community centre. There are plenty of places they could run these advice and activity groups.”
ESCC does run some activities at the library, but these are also provided by the library service across the county.
Equally frustrated is Bev Pashley who runs the Artytime Scrapstore in Jarvis Brook and has launched a major fundraising campaign to extend the store and create a new youth and arts centre. Appealing for support for that campaign she said the need is very apparent. “So Uckfield get more sessions because they have a dedicated venue for a family hub. While Crowborough gets one.”
A retired voluntary youth worker, whom Crowborough News has agreed not to name, said the county council was short-changing the town. She said: “It’s shocking they provide so little family and youth support in a town like Crowborough. Not everyone here is wealthy, there are families facing real hardship who are being overlooked.”
An East Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “We remain committed to working flexibly and creatively to support families in Crowborough and surrounding rural communities, and we regularly review how services are delivered along with staffing and funding challenges to ensure they meet local needs in a sustainable way.
“The new Family Hubs guidance refers to networks of Family Hubs that are accessible to all, particularly those in deprived communities and we will continue to explore options, working with our partners in Crowborough, to find some shared community space that we can use to ensure that we are reaching into all of our communities.”
She added the council delivered a number of courses, workshops and support groups from Grove House, was “working closely” with the Clued-Up service for young people, and residents had access to “a range of advice to support families” on the Family Advice Line 01323 46 46 55.