Leisure centre creche services will be provided for the “lifetime” of the Angus Alliance administration leaving campaigners “absolutely thrilled”.
Corporate services convener Mark Salmond told councillors in his budget speech on Thursday that Angus Council’s ruling coalition had rejected controversial proposals to axe childcare services at gyms across the county.
Mr Salmond’s announcement followed a campaign led by local parents Victoria Wylie and Laura Cameron to secure the future of the creches.
Addressing the chamber at Forfar’s Town and County Hall, Mr Salmond acknowledged the popularity of a Facebook group set up by the women in an attempt to raise the profile of the cause, which attracted over 150 members in just three days.
He said, “This will I know be welcome news for the Facebook group led by Mrs Wylie. Had the budget papers been available to the public she would have seen that the administration share their opposition to this particular proposal and it does not feature in our proposed budget.
“I apologise for the unnecessary anxiety this caused but I am pleased to see the value that so many leisure centre users place on this service. They can all be assured that it will continue for the lifetime of this administration.”
Mrs Wylie, whose daughters Isobel (3) and six-month-old Eve are cared for by staff at Forfar’s Lochside Leisure Centre while she attends fitness classes, said she was relieved that the current administration had decided to retain the facilities.
She added, “I’m so pleased everyone involved is absolutely delighted. It will be a big boost for the staff too. Although they probably wouldn’t have lost their jobs, they would have been redeployed and no one was sure where they were going to be put.”
SNP councillor Glennis Middleton, who backed the campaign, said she was also “delighted” that the proposal to close the creches had been withdrawn.