Decision on whether Stubbington Study Centre will close to be made on Tuesday, March 18

A decision will be made next week on whether a beloved study centre will close to make way for a specialist home for vulnerable children.

Hampshire County Council is currently considering a proposal to replace Stubbington Study Centre in Fareham – a location for residential trips for many North Hampshire schoolchildren – with a new specialist secure welfare children’s home.

If agreed, the new children’s home would replace and expand the council’s only existing home with a new modern and up-to-date facility that would house 18 vulnerable children.

The current home can only house 10.

In retaliation to the plans, a petition to save the study centre gained nearly 5,000 signatures just two days after it was launched on January 15.

To make way for a new specialist children’s home on the Stubbington site, the activities currently provided there would need to cease from August 31.

After announcing this proposal, the county council launched a public consultation which established that “the provision delivered at Stubbington is highly valued by residents and communities, particularly for its education-based approach to the outdoor experiences it offers”.

A council spokesperson said: “If the decision is taken to close the centre, the county council would boost this type of education-based offer at its other outdoor sites, while at the same time delivering a much-needed specialist children’s home at Stubbington.”

A final decision will be made on the proposal on Tuesday, March 18.