Dismay followed news that three Sure Start children’s centres in Thanet will have their hours cut to part-time under the latest round of Kent County Council cuts.

The decision to downgrade centres in Birchington, Callis Grange and Garlinge was announced this morning by Cllr Jenny Whittle, KCC cabinet member for specialist children’s services.

It was a bitter blow for local Labour councillors who had fought for the centres.

District councillor Cllr Jenny Matterface, representing Beacon Road, said: “Despite a vigorous campaign by parents, grandparents, carers and Labour Councillors, KCC has not reconsidered its decision to make Callis Grange a part-time centre.

“It will impact on parents without transport who will find it difficult to access other centres for vital services. It will add more strain on cash strapped families who have to pay for public transport to other centres and it will give children less time at the centre.It will make it increasingly difficult for families who have benefited from the Children’s Centres to continue to attend.”

The centre was an essential part of the community.

Councillor Iris Johnston had campaigned for the creation of Sure Starts in Thanet in 2005.

She said: “Labour Councillors at Thanet District Council and myself, as cabinet member for community development, made it very clear at a KCC ‘consultants’ briefing that we would not tolerate any loss of services to our families or indeed job losses for the many excellent staff. I’m glad that our pressure has meant that not a single centre has closed in Thanet, but we are disappointed by the downgrading of the services to part-time.

“Those of us who have spent years supporting the need for ‘under- five’s’ provision worry that this is the beginning of KCC working towards even more serious changes.”

South Thanet Labour Party’s candidate for the 2015 General Election, Cllr Will Scobie, also campaigned against the closures.

He said: “Sure Starts work, the evidence is there. The benefits are clearly shown in the parents who have gained qualifications, gained employment and gone on to further education.

“These cuts will affect families that need support to meet their potential, so we won’t give up the fight for local people. The Labour government created Sure Starts in 2005 and we are committed to helping families by giving every child in primary school free breakfast and after school clubs from 8am to 6pm, and extending free nursery places for 3-4 year olds from 15 to 25 hours per week.

“David Cameron promised before he was elected that Sure Starts were safe. Since 2010 he has closed 590 centres around the country and has cut the funding and hours for many more. It’s clear which party is in support of families and children, and which will only put big businesses first.”

Kent County Council is keeping open 11 of the 23 children’s centres it had threatened to close as part of a cost-cutting shake-up.

The shake-up of Kent’s 97 centres has proved controversial and KCC faced protests and campaigns to keep many centres open - often backed by Conservative MPs.

About 6,000 people responded to a three-month public consultation on the plans, with many criticising what they saw as cuts to a vital service for parents and young children.

Cllr Whittle acknowledged that the consultation had demonstrated the role the centres played.

She said: “I have listened to parents and seen first-hand the impact these centres have and, where they are vital to the community, we have found ways to keep them open. This consultation has never been about reducing services and these will continue to be delivered in alternative buildings in areas where a centre closes. I am confident that these changes will result in high-quality, effective children’s centres to support the children and families of Kent into the future.

She added: “We have had to make tough decisions but we have sought to save centres from closure where it would have had a substantial impact.”

The re-organisation will be considered by county councillors on December 5