Half of the borough’s youth clubs will close despite the fact Kingston Council will save no money this year from the decision.

Surrey Comet:

Protest: Searchlight users

Children from Searchlight, a club on the borders of Norbiton and New Malden, packed the public gallery during Wednesday’s adults and children’s committee, but were “dismayed” at the decision to close their club.

Kingston Council’s budget plans stated the closures of Searchlight, Doris Venner, Barnfield and Devon Way centres between May and August would save £95,000 in 2016-17.

But it was revealed during Wednesday’s committee that the closures would in fact save no money at all until later this decade.

Some 40 members of Searchlight, who had protested outside the budget meeting two weeks ago, waited for two hours to speak against the decision.

Member Markus Dyke, 12, said: “The average distance someone has to walk to Searchlight is half a mile. Norbiton is a deprived area. If Searchlight moves not as many people will attend. Parents would not be able to take their children due to financial issues.”

Achieving for Children (AfC), the community interest company which runs children’s services in Kingston and Richmond, wants to put youth workers in schools and on the streets instead of in centres. It has suggested Searchlight use the Dickerage Road youth club instead.

Markus’ mother Nicola Dyke said: “In the last two years Dickerage has deteriorated. I don’t see how you can run youth services for eight to 11 year olds there.”

Harry Hall, chairman of the Cambridge Road Estate Residents’ Association, added: “Other council estates in Kingston have their own youth centres.

“Before AfC took over I asked the question, ‘Why has the largest estate in the borough not got a youth centre?’ The answer I received was, ‘Because they have Searchlight’.”

An amendment put forward by Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors to keep Searchlight open until the Cambridge Road Estate regeneration programme is agreed was defeated by a single vote.

Norbiton councillor Linsey Cottington said: “The council wants to take away one of the very few facilities we have in this area.”

Councillor Chris Hayes, lead member for children’s social care and health, said: “These aren’t easy decisions that we have to make. There is very little to gain financially from this. This is about doing what works. Increasing the face-to-face time that youth workers have with young people.”

About 400 youth clubs have closed across the country since 2010 due to budget cuts, a Daily Mirror survey of local authorities revealed.

Ivana Price, from AfC, said: “There is a saving against the modernisation of the youth centres – this isn’t directly related to not using the youth centres, therefore the efficiency won’t be achieved this financial year but will be part of the longer term financial planning.”

Eighty of Spotlight’s 84 members filled out an AfC consultation into the closure, and a petition to save the service reached more than 1,000 signatures. The responses revealed that youth centres were one of the most important things to the children who used Kingston’s youth services.