Ref. 73897-35FAMILY centres are the under-threat service Adver readers value most.

In our telephone poll on a series of cuts being considered by Swindon Council 30 per cent of callers voted to save the family centres.

The centres picked up nearly twice as many votes as any other service with cuts to the concessionary bus fare system which could mean the end of half fares for children in second place with 16.7 per cent of the vote.

Lyn Thompson, project co-ordinator of the Welcome Centre in Lyndhurst Crescent, Park North, was delighted with the result.

"I am really pleased that people have bothered to respond and that they see the benefits of the family centres even if they don't use them themselves," she said.

"It is heartening to know people feel like that."

Mrs Thompson added that they had received some very encouraging letters from people who know about the work done at the centre.

But the threat to the service is still causing worry at the centre.

"There is disbelief because we went through this process last year," Mrs Thompson said.

"It is dismay that it is happening again.

"Christmas is not an easy time for a lot of our clients but a lot of people have been asking if we have heard anything yet they are worrying about the centre on top of everything else they have to worry about."

The council is considering saving £50,000 by closing one of the centres in Parks or Walcot. It is one of a series of cuts being considered as the council tries to keep the council tax rise down to three per cent.

The Evening Advertiser poll highlighted 10 threatened services and asked readers to vote for the service they thought was too valuable to face cuts.

After the family centres and concessionary fares, two potential cuts were opposed by about 13 per cent of those who voted. They were plans to reduce the opening hours of many leisure services and to cut funding to voluntary services.

Closing public toilets and cutting the Home Start service got 6.7 per cent of the vote each. The council has told Home Start it now anticipates being able to continue its funding but has not removed it from its consultation document.

Cuts to art services, the council's cash support service and play services as well as increases in car parking charges all received 3.3 per cent of the vote.

Council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town & Lawns) said they would take the results into account as the budget was finalised.

"This is one of the many steps in the public consultation process that will be taking place during January," he said.

"I would like to thank everybody who took the opportunity of phoning in with their views."

Isabel field