FIVE council children’s centres are to be downgraded as part of Blackburn with Darwen borough’s efforts to cut £30million spending over two years.

They were originally earmarked for full closure but will be saved as subsidiary branches in a major shake-up.

The new model will see eight children’s centres become ‘hubs’ with the other five as ‘spokes’, but with reduced services.

Council leaders hope private, voluntary or charity providers will take over the ‘spokes’ centres as hosts for their own and borough provision.

The centres currently provide a range of services, such as health, job seeking and benefit advice, and activities to support children under five, parents and carers and prospective parents.

The services provided at the eight ‘hubs’ will be reduced as part of £893,000 saving over the next two years. Originally, the council planned to close the five smaller centres at Seven Trees, Wensley Fold, Accrington Road, Earcroft and Longshaw to meet Whitehall cash targets.

After intensive talks between council leader Kate Hollern and children’s services boss Maureen Bateson the ‘hub and spoke’ solution was chosen.

Under the plans, full daily care at all 13 centres will end and they will focus on two, three and four-year-olds with an increase in outreach workers operating from the ‘hubs’.

The council is consulting on the plans which will see three ‘hub and spoke’ areas created.

Area one will have hubs at the Hancock Street and John Smethurst centres and spokes at Seven Trees and Wensley Fold. Area two’s hubs will be at the Audley and Queen’s Park, Little Harwood and Shadsworth centres with a spoke at Accrington Road.

Area three will have hubs at the Darwen, Higher Croft and Livesey centres and spokes at Earcroft and Longshaw.

Coun Bateson said: “We have proposed a new delivery model which we have called ‘hub and spoke’. There are also plans to increase outreach services which will see us work from community buildings such as schools, mosques and church halls.

“There will be eight main centres or ‘hubs’. We have chosen these sites based on the level of local need and availability of other services in the area.

“The five remaining children’s centres will merge with them to become ‘spokes’ and there will be an opportunity for other providers to use these buildings to deliver services to local families.”