Closure is slammed by councillor

Liberal Democrats party leader David Kendall has spoken out against plans to close the Adult Learning Centre in Warley.

Mr Kendall, a borough and county councillor, says there has been very little consultation on the move being made by Essex County Council.

When the centre closes, courses that are currently run in Warley will be transferred to the Adult Community Learning Centre either at Bishops Hill in Hutton or Fyfield Road in Ongar. It means learners who want to carry on studying may have to travel further.

In addition, 52 of the 88 courses currently at Warley will not be moving to the Bishops Hill Centre.

As a county councillor, Mr Kendall believes he should have been told about the move months ago, and fears the land may be sold off for development.

The closure has been blamed on a 10 per cent reduction in funding to the Learning and Skills Council for over 16s.

The council says it hopes to relocate staff to other education institutions.