DEVON County Council officers were the target for anger over the crisis at Okehampton?s Ockment Centre at the meeting about the new primary school last week. A statement was made by Roger Grainger, who works for the county council?s chief executive, as it was feared the topic could dominant the meeting. The community was shocked when the council decided to site the new children?s centre at the primary school when it is built in three years? time, despite assurances to the Ockment Centre that it would be located there. The decision has left the future of the popular community centre in doubt. Mr Grainger said it was understood that the children?s centre was not the central challenge facing the Ockment Centre. Staff have told the Times in recent articles that vital building maintenance work and core funding for services was needed at the centre. Mr Grainger said: ?The county council is very concerned about the challenges facing the Ockment Centre and is very serious about wanting to help it to meet those challenges. ?Maintenance costs and future options need to be discussed between us and the trustees to achieve a long-term business plan.? Manager of the Ockment centre Lindsey Svensson said redundancy notices had been issued ? the centre employs 12 people. Meanwhile, local people are writing letters to the council?s chief executive Dr P Norrey and signing a petition in a bid to save the centre from closure in December. Local Conservatives are also distributing leaflets to every household in the town urging people to write. County and borough Conservative Cllr Christine Marsh said: ?It is vital that we all get writing right away to let county know just how important the Ockment Centre is to us all.? Cllr James McInnes, who is also a Conservative borough councillor said at the public meeting last week: ?All sorts of discussions are going on. ?We are horrified at the prospect of the Ockment Centre not continuing. We want to reassure people that although we are silent about it here tonight we are doing everything we can.? Okehampton mayor Tony Leech said he was looking at setting up an appeal to help the centre with some crisis funding and hoped some of the town?s larger organisations as well as small groups and individuals would join in that. ?I would like to see people help with a rescue package until such time as the county council gets its act together,? he said.
