A meeting will be held in Sittingbourne to talk about Kent County Council (KCC) plans to close Woodgrove Children’s Centre.

The facility in Johnson Road is one of 23 across the county that could shut under fresh cost- cutting proposals.

MP Gordon Henderson and KCC community liaison manager Bill Ronan will attend the get-together at the Pulse Café, Park Road, on Friday from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

They will explain how the cuts will affect local people and services.

The centre was opened five years ago through the Sure Start initiative to “give children the best possible start in life” through improvement of care, early education, health and family support.

A total of 607 under-fives and their families use Woodgrove, although 410 of them also use nearby sites Grove Park, Milton Court, Murston and Bysing Wood.

Services available include play sessions, courses and groups for parents and carers, including adult education, antenatal and post-natal, a weekly child-health clinic and midwife appointments.

The centre also supports parents who are looking for work or training, and helps them access family support and health services.

KCC wants to set out a new model for its children’s centres that is sustainable for their long-term futures.

It is targeting those centres with the lowest attendance figures, and claims the identified sites are no longer needed.

To make up the loss, council chiefs are suggesting 16 “lead centres”, which already provide services for a larger number of families. These would coordinate with other smaller sites in their areas.

The bigger centres, which would be known as Children’s Centre Plus, would have to work more closely with GPs, schools, voluntary services and health visitors so families got the support they needed.

The authority hopes the reduction in building and management costs will save around £1.5m over the next financial year – on top of the £1.4m KCC has to save by the end of this year.

A public consultation runs until October 4. To have your say, visit www.kent.gov.uk/childrenscentres