Final decision made on Stubbington Study Centre proposal

Cabinet Members met today (Tuesday, 18 March) to discuss the proposal, and the feedback from the County Council’s recent public consultation. They also considered recommendations from the local authority’s Hampshire 2050 Select Committee, which scrutinised the proposal at length on Thursday, 6 March. Today’s meeting was a detailed and thorough discussion, which saw Members unanimously reject the recommended closure of the Study Centre, and included eight presentations from members of the public and local County Councillors.

Councillor Nick Adams-King, Leader of the County Council, said: “Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their feedback on this proposal. Thank you also to my fellow Cabinet members for today’s discussion, and to my colleagues on the Hampshire 2050 Select Committee for their valuable scrutiny.

“Stubbington Study Centre is clearly a well-loved and highly popular facility, and I know many people have felt very strongly about this proposal. This is exactly why it was so important to consult on it, and I hope today’s meeting sends a clear message that we have heard what people have to say and listened carefully to every single view shared with us through this consultation. This is democracy in action, and I am grateful to everyone who has taken the time to be a part of it.

 “Today’s outcome does not, of course, take away from the pressing need for more and better specialist residential care for our most vulnerable children who need our highest level of care and protection. We are their ‘corporate parents’, and they have rightly been at the forefront of our minds throughout this entire process. Having explored all our currently available options, we now have more work to do to see whether and if so how, we can still meet the urgent need for a new specialist children’s home in Hampshire.”

The option to build the new children’s home comes as the Government has said that it would provide capital funding to replace the County Council’s existing but ageing specialist home at Swanwick Lodge. This funding is subject to the County Council’s confirmation by the end of March 2025 that a suitable location is available and cannot be used for the purchase of any new land.

Council officers undertook a thorough and robust review of potential sites owned by the local authority. Having followed the Government’s requirements and relevant criteria, they identified the Stubbington Study Centre site as the only viable site of all the available options currently open to the local authority. 

While Cabinet Members acknowledged the detailed and diligent work by officers, the urgent need for the new home and the challenges of finding a suitable location in Government’s timeframes, their final decision reflects the extensive public support for the retention of the Study Centre.

Following today’s meeting, Cabinet Members have agreed for County Council officers to ask Government for extra time to see if any new potential sites emerge for their consideration. They will also ask officers to approach local district and borough councils to explore any availability of land to potentially accommodate the new home.

For full details of the proposals discussed at today’s meeting, visit the County Council's website.