More than 30 “vital” children’s centres around Bucks are set to be replaced with nine hubs after new proposals were given the green light.

The new early help service will see nine teams of lead family workers working in community settings across the county, including people’s homes, which bosses say will save the council more than £3 million over four years.

The team bases will replace seven of the existing children’s centres along with the remaining two areas – Quarrendon and Buckingham – currently being assessed for “appropriate locations”.

Council bosses said the future of the remaining 28 buildings will be decided with local communities, schools and early years providers, to see how they can be used “for the maximum benefit of children, families and communities”.

They added that the move will help the council to support families with all of their problems at the same time, meaning families and children “only have to tell their story once”, with a spokesman saying: “The council plans to improve services and help families most in need by shifting the focus further from reactive services, to preventative support.

“By providing more coordinated support to children and families as soon as a problem emerges, the aim is to prevent small problems from getting out of control and help families to become more resilient to deal with problems in the future.”

But the controversial plans were slammed by campaigners who protested against the closures, with one parent saying the centres offered “much needed practical and emotional support for parents”.

Protest organiser Alka Dass said: “This is not going to stop us from continuing to campaign against this.

“I'm not surprised by the decision, however I didn't expect them to so easily agree to a proposal which has so little detail.

“I am disappointed with the decision. I'm disappointed that they've tried to downplay everything.

“We are not going to stop here.”

The service is expected to have a service budget of £7.125m in comparison to the budget of £10.08m for the current services, saving the council £3.07m over four years.

Cabinet member for children’s services Warren Whyte said: “This is a great opportunity to support children and families who need us the most.

“By going out to where they are, dealing with the whole family and all of their issues and listening to what families need rather than waiting for them to reach a crisis point, I’m confident we can make some real positive changes for families in Buckinghamshire.

“I’m particularly keen now for ideas on how we can continue to keep our Children’s Centre buildings in use going forward; whether that is to support increasing Early Years places, schools, other support and services for children, young people and families, or broader community use.”

The team bases will be located at:

  • Wycombe Castlefield, Rutland Avenue, Castlefield
  • Wycombe Millbrook, Mill End Road
  • Wycombe Hamilton Road
  • Burnham, Minniecroft Road
  • Chesham Newtown, Berkhampstead Road
  • Aylesbury, covering the Quarrendon area
  • Aylesbury Southcourt, Aylesbury College Campus, Oxford Road
  • Aylesbury Elmhurst, Dunsham Lane
  • Buckingham: this team base will be established as part of the options being explored for co-location of a variety of public sector services.