Belfast City Council has called for an urgent meeting to stop the imminent closure of a Turf Lodge childcare facility.
At the recent meeting of the full council (March 1), elected members agreed to a People Before Profit motion, amended by Sinn Fein, calling for an emergency forum to keep Mountainview Centre on Norglen Gardens open.
The council will convene the meeting, with invitations to the Education and Communities Ministers and their officials, as well as council officers and staff of the Mountainview Centre.
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A Sinn Fein additional amendment was accepted, calling for the Education Minister to meet the council to discuss a 98 percent Education Authority funding cut made to Glór na Móna, the Upper Springfield Irish language organisation.
The shock announcement was made in January that the Mountainview centre, run by the Society of St Vincent de Paul, would close its doors for good on March 11 after 21 years. The closure will see six staff members lose their jobs, and 16 families will lose after-schools and creche services, after five weeks' notice.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul wrote to parents, stating use of the centre had “reduced significantly over the past few years” and that after a “detailed review of the service” it concluded it was “no longer feasible to offer this service.”
The council motion states: “This council notes with concern that the childcare service at Mountainview Centre in West Belfast is due to close in the coming weeks. This follows a recent announcement by the Ardmonagh Family Centre, also based on the Upper Springfield Road, that it too, is reluctantly having to terminate its services.
“The council recognises the vital resource that the Mountainview Centre has been to a large number of families over many years, by providing after school activities and childcare services at an affordable rate.
“The council believes the closure of this service will have a negative impact on families in West Belfast. It also expresses concern that several staff will face redundancy as a result of this closure.
“Given the recent spiralling cost of living, and the inability for working class families to access affordable childcare, it is imperative that this centre remains open to provide after schools services and creche facilities at an affordable rate for parents.”
People Before Profit Councillor Matt Collins said: “It is an area crying out for funding as it is, so in that context the idea that the services that already exist are under threat - we find this quite shocking.”
He added: “Can you imagine what the pandemic would have been like without childcare facilities like this? Campaigning in Turf Lodge and speaking to the people there, every door we knocked on supported the idea of keeping it open. Every house - if they didn’t have kids or family members using it at the moment, they could cite a relative who used the service growing up.” He said the government had to “step in to save it.”
Sinn Fein Councillor Steven Corr said: “One of the realities here is that there is a change of the role of St Vincent de Paul in our area, and many areas of Belfast. I remember growing up when they were a steadfast part of our community, and sadly that has changed. The role of St Vincent de Paul has diminished.”
He added: “I think we should also note that St Vincent de Paul can’t manage these centres anymore. There's quite a sudden change here in St Vincent de Paul and Regina Coeli structures in this city, and it is part of a wider context.
“The MP for West Belfast, the local MLA, local councillors like myself and People Before Profit have reached out to them, and they have ignored every single form of communication. They have sent back a standard “we have received your email.”
“St Vincent de Paul has big questions to answer - from being an integral part of our community, they have really been found to be lacking in how they have treated these issues.”
Councillor Corr said after discussion with the Stormont Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey that community funding for the area could retain three of the jobs threatened by the closure of the centre, if moved to another childcare facility.
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