The fight to keep a 'vital' community centre open got a big boost this week.

House of Lords Labour leader Baroness Angela Smith visited The Sunlight Centre, in Richmond Road, Gillingham, yesterday (Thursday).

She was given a tour of the building, home to charity initiatives, a cafe and a GP surgery, before speaking to staff and councillors about the challenges it is facing.

Medway Clinical Commissioning Group unveiled plans last summer to close the GP as well as one in Twydall and combine them with three other surgeries.

The knock on effect of that, staff say, would be the closure of the neighbouring pharmacy and, when coupled with the prospect of rising rents, the end of Sunlight.

Currently the centre pays a pepper-corn rent but its 25-year lease will come to an end in 2021 and Medway Council has previously said it will charge tens of thousands in rent a year after that point, according to chief executive Steve Claringbold.

Baroness Smith said all local authorities were under pressure having been subject to swingeing cuts meaning tough decisions had to be made but there was a tendency for politicians to know "the cost of everything but the value of nothing".

Currently the centre offers a resource for the community with residents able to walk in whenever they like.

The baroness was told just the previous day a woman fleeing domestic violence had turned up and been cared for by centre staff for four hours while suitable support was found.

Another project run from the centre, Men in Sheds, tackles social isolation and mental health by giving vulnerable men a safe space to practise DIY and receive support.

Baroness Smith said: "These type of resources are absolutely vital for the local community they serve.

"I'm getting tired of councillors going along with central government policy even though the result is massive cuts to their services. They need to tell the government enough is enough.

"We need to get away from the idea cutting is saving money as further down the line it costs more. These services save money by helping people here and now. It's hard to get back to a sensible position from where we are now.

When asked about the impact Brexit might have on funding she said: "Look how much the government is spending on Brexit at the moment. There are thousands of civil servants being redirected to work on it.

"Theresa May set off wrong by setting out red lines. Jeremy Corbyn won't talk to her until no-deal is off the table, something even the chancellor says is going to happen but she won't budge.

"If we were in power Keir Starmer would have a very different attitude to negotiations. I think a general election is the best course of action at this point."

In December Medway Clinical Commissioning Group appointed DMC healthcare to run the surgery at Sunlight and the Pentagon centre. DMC was already in charge of the other three centres involved in the ongoing merger talks.

At the time the CCG said discussion on a merger remain postponed and a consultation will take place before any decision is made.