Packed: Council officers explain the way forward for the learning centres

COUNCIL officers have said they will continue to consult with members of the public on proposed changes to the Learning Pembrokeshire service.

A public consultation meeting was held at the Fishguard Community Learning Centre on Monday afternoon (Jun 22).

Many people who use the centre packed out the lecture room as they voiced their concerns to council officers.

County Councillors Pat Davies, Myles Pepper and Keith Lewis were also amongst the crowd along with a few town councillors.

The council’s Lifelong learning co-ordinator Chris Birch gave a presentation to those in the room about the cuts the council is facing and ways forward.

One of the main concerns that were raised was about finances as a number had asked for a detailed breakdown of how much it costs to run the centre.

Some among the audience were concerned that the council did not have a plan going forward for the learning centres.

Chris Birch told those present: “We want to deliver a service that is value for money and that is something we have always endeavoured to do. The last year has been one of the most difficult in terms of funding. We want to take everything on board. This is a public survey of everything that is happening.”

Anne Garside said: “We were told these centres would be closed by Easter, it has taken till June to have a consultation and we are supposed to have a plan by September. This is an inadequate amount of time for us and if this centre were to close it would have a devastating socio-economic impact on our community. We understand the situation but don’t discount the views of the user-base. We want to work with you and we want time to evaluate and look at the financial figures. Each centre should be evaluated on a case by case basis and every centre is in a different situation. This is a relatively new purpose built building in good shape and in a central location. We question why there is a proposal to close this one when the one in Haverfordwest is falling apart, the one in Tenby is so large and in Pembroke Dock there is a plan which involves the school. I would ask that you give us at least another 1-2 years. There is no long-range planning and this is one of the great weaknesses. To assess the impact, we need more than the year to evaluate this. To get a plan by September is ridiculous.”

The council’s Head of Performance and Community James White responded: “We have had four meetings now and one thing that is clear is that the potential solutions will not be the same in each area. We have to say and recognise that there are constraints to how we can long-term plan. The Welsh Government does not know what its block grant will be. We do not know that long in advance.”

He was then asked if he thought there would be an adult education service running by 2020. James White replied: “There will be some; it would be alarmist to say that there will be no service by 2020.”

James White added that he would be willing to meet with anyone who wished to do so.

Another member of the audience was concerned about where courses would be held if the centre closed and added: “This centre is eminently suitable.”

James White said: “The courses can take place in a variety of different places and we can use a lot of different venues.”

One user added: “We come here to socialise. The quality of life for older people will diminish if this centre is closed. It is places like this that can combat that.”

The meeting closed with the comment: “We want to make an arrangement with you to meet so we can provide some concrete solutions in order to do what this meeting is about which is to keep this centre open.”