'Peterborough children are the ones missing out' claims campaigner following closure of Stibbington Centre

A campaigner has said ‘Peterborough children will miss out’ after the county council announced the closure of a popular education centre near the city.

Thousands of children have had life long memories made at the Stibbington Centre over the years – but the site will close at the end of the year, after Cambridgeshire County Council pulled the plug to save cash at a meeting on Tuesday.

The decision has left plenty of people – from children and parents to teachers – devastated. The money saved from the closure will be used to help fund other outdoor education centres at Grafham Water and Burwell House elsewhere in Cambridgeshire.

MORE: Stibbington Centre closure confirmed as council say popular site is 'not financially viable'

The council said less than half the visits to Stibbington were from schools outside the county council boundaries – but schools in Peterborough, which are not considered to be in Cambridgeshire in the statistics, make a large number of visits to the centre.

Christine Moss, chair of the trustees of Stibbington Greener Futures Trust, said Peterborough children would miss out as a result of the decision.

She said: “There is nothing quite like Stibbington in Cambridgeshire.

"We expected the decision the council made, but it was still massively disappointing.

"It is such a huge loss. Schools come back year after year, because they know what is offered at Stibbington is not available elsewhere.

"The other outdoor sites are good, but they are a long way from Peterborough. For young children, it can be too far to do in a day.

"It is the children in Peterborough who will be missing out.”

At the meeting on Tuesday, the council said they were not sure how much money would be made by selling Stibbington, but described the centre as being ‘not financially viable.’

Christine said she hoped the site could be saved in some form. She said: “We are looking for a firm interested in outdoor education to come forward to buy the site. It would be great for the legacy to continue.”