Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, was joined by Local Councillors at Stubbington Study Centre today [Friday 24 January] to call for the Study Centre to be kept.
Hampshire County Council is consulting on proposals to repurpose the much-loved site into a specialist secure welfare children's home, prompting a local outcry.
Caroline was joined by Fareham Borough Council councillors Steve Dugan, Pal Hayre, Kay Mandry, and Jacquie Needham at the site.
It follows a letter Caroline wrote to Hampshire County Council asking them to clarify whether other sites had been considered for the secure home, as well as whether there were conditions around the original gift of the land. In the letter, Caroline also echoed a common complaint, suggesting that the survey excluded the views of many local people who had no direct experience of using the site.
The Study Centre is a popular destination for school children in the Gosport area, and often is the location for their first night spent away from home with school.
Speaking at the site, Caroline said:
“I have been meeting with the Local Councillors to discuss our concerns about Hampshire County Council’s plan to shut this site which is so well used and well-loved by local people. I have had so much correspondence from people who are so concerned about the plans.”
“We’re going to keep fighting and we would encourage you to take part in the online consultation and fill in the petition.”
ENDS
For more information contact [email protected]
You can read Caroline’s letter here: https://www.facebook.com/Caroline4Gosport/posts/pfbid035fgeBpunsYesSe7XnZqpSkrCbDYFJRqXVrfr4ojyVLBr9ba47hgSA8rMVknqtpa3l