The campaign to save the Elm Park Children’s Centre from closure was given a boost when Margaret Mullane, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Dagenham and Rainham, presented a petition signed by over 250 local residents and parents to Labour Councillor Matt Stanton calling on Havering Council for the centre to be kept open.

The petition is in response to the Council’s consultation on potential cuts to its services forced on it by the Tory government to balance its budget.

Margaret said “Children’s Centres are essential support for so many parents and are important for the development of children in their early years. I know that Havering Council, together with councils up and down England are facing intolerable financial pressures following from 12 years of Tory government austerity. In the face of this situation they are being forced to look at a package of cuts that they do not wish to make.

“I have listened to the parents whose children attend the Elm Park Children’s Centre and depend on its services and know that its loss would be a massive blow for the community. So I join those parents in calling for Havering Council to look again at their budget and keep open the centre.”

The petition is to be presented to Havering Council at its meeting on the evening of 18 January. If you haven’t yet signed the petition there is still time: Campaign to Save Elm Park Children’s Centre – Dagenham and Rainham Labour Party