Sheppey’s only youth club will close this year after Kent County Council announced its decision to withdraw funding.

The fate of Sheerness County Youth Centre had been in the balance since county-wide plans to transform youth services were first mooted in July last year.

KCC has gone forward with the plans unchanged, despite its own report showing more than half of all consultees disagreed with the idea.

Youth clubs across the county will have their funding withdrawn and services will be transferred to county-sponsored regional “hubs”.

The nearest of these places for young people on Sheppey will be in Sittingbourne.

Chairman of trustees Daphne Mannering said: “I am totally disappointed and devastated for the young people of Sheppey.

“It is just beyond belief when you think how little there will be for young people on the Island.”

During the consultation period for the plans, there were 69 responses from people or organisations from Swale.

Mrs Mannering, 78, added: “I think a lot of people did write [to the council] in support of the club. I wrote a couple of letters to Mike Hill and Gordon Henderson.”

KCC predicts it will save £1 million by implementing the changes but Mrs Mannering baulked at this suggestion.

She said: “It’s peanuts, isn’t it? They might be saving that, but the police will probably be picking up an extra tab from young people doing what they are not supposed to do because they have nowhere to go. It is a false economy.

“It is such a small amount of money by today’s standards.”

The youth club in Broadway, Sheerness, which has been open for more than 50 years, has 11 part-time and full-time staff. It will close in December.

Cllr Mike Hill (Con), cabinet member for communities, said it was wrong to assume that if centres did close, then there would be no youth services.

Cllr Hill said: “We have an opportunity here to deliver, at the end of the day, an even better youth service. The difficulty we have is making people understand that the youth service is not a building but can be delivered in a very different way. The hubs will be a focal point for youth services in each area.”