Creche shock shakes museums

The proposal was put before Rother cabinet on Wednesday as a late report not circulated beforehand with other papers.

Rother leader Cllr Graham Gubby says the proposal would not endanger in any way the plan to build an extension to Bexhill Museum and a new home for overcrowded Bexhill Museum of Costume and Social History on the former swimming bath site in Egerton Park.

He says it is essential for Rother to provide a site for under-fours in order for Bexhill to gain maximum financial and social advantage from a bid due to be submitted on May 1 for Government funding under the Sure Start scheme.

Museum Association chairman Megan Traice says the proposal has come out of the blue with no consultation.

The two museums have long planned a joint development and have had architect's drawings produced to back their Lottery bid.

Cllr Gubby said: "This is an exciting and important opportunity to provide a major solution to a desperate social need for many families in disadvantaged areas of the town.

"It is an opportunity to put some major funding in two of the most deprived wards in the country.

"It means that many parents and children who are entitled to have good quality play school and nursery facilities will have these - and even more, because it links social support with fun, education and the benefits of bringing children up in a safe and caring town.

"The seriousness of this is that what they are looking at providing are the things that, in the consultation process, parents have been saying they desperately need - creche, play school and nursery facilities.

"There is nothing in the town centre - and I care about that, I really care."

Would the addition of a Sure Start complex damage the museum project?

"Quite the contrary!

"What it will show is that the museum is complementary to the benefits that will be provided by Sure Start and Rother because it is recognised that young people are entitled to sure in all the facilities in the town.

"We are talking about a 1m project being matched by Rother simply by making the land available - it does not cost Rother anything except the land."

Mrs Traice, founder of St Jude's Women's Refuge, said: "We are not anti-children at the museum. Far from it, we do a lot with children. But I can't see why this has been put forward, especially in this way.

"I can't see any link between the museum and Sure Start.

"I don't want to stop the Sure Start scheme because I genuinely think there is a need for it.

"But we have spent a long time preparing this joint museum plan and gone to a lot of trouble to get architect's drawings prepared for the Lottery bid.

"Now we have a situation where something completely different is being discussed and we know nothing at all about it. We haven't been consulted."