KINGSBRIDGE Children's Centre is closing following a consultation by Devon County Council.

Centres in Dartmouth and South Brent will act as link centres for Totnes, while the Kingsbridge and Ivybridge ­centres will close from April next year.

Kingsbridge mayor Wayne Grills reacted angrily to the news, saying: 'It's a real shame to see a centre that's vital to members of our community being cut in the name of austerity.

'I can only hope that the ­services offered will still be available to families who need them at accessible alternative venues.'

Town councillors were made aware of the threat to the children's centre in the town in April, when Devon county councillor Julian Brazil informed them that the consultation ­period was ending on April 22.

On Wednesday Cllr Brazil said: 'We've been assured we will not lose the services and will be looking to replicate them in another location.

'What we don't want is young mothers being forced to travel to Totnes – we need to provide the services in Kingsbridge.'

The services offered by the children's centres are not delivered directly by Devon County Council, but are contracted to six different providers, with Action for Children running the services in Kingsbridge.

Central government cuts mean the budget that Devon County Council has to spend on children's centres has dropped from £9.1m in 2013-14 to £8.6m in 2014-15, and in 2017-18 it will shrink further to £7.3m.

A spokesman for the county council said: 'We're currently looking at different ways of ­delivering children's centre ­services closer to the communities that need them.

'Some expensive-to-run ­buildings may no longer be used, but that doesn't mean that the services they provide will no longer be available.'