TOWN hall bosses say standards must be maintained in the face of cost-cutting plans to merge children’s centres.

Essex County Council plans to close some centres and combine them with other sites in a bid to save £2.5million by 2016.

But Tendring Council’s leader Peter Halliday, speaking before his resignation, has demanded that the quality of care and education does not drop as a result of any changes.

He said: “It is our duty in Tendring to challenge anything detrimental to the delivery of current services and therefore our response is all about maintaining or enhancing provision.

“That is because we must safeguard local services for the benefit of the residents in Tendring.”

The county council proposal would see Manningtree Children’s Centre, based at the Mistley Health Clinic merged with the Windmill Children’s Centre ten miles away in Ramsey.