Stubbington Study Centre: Hampshire County Council to press ahead with controversial closure plans

Hampshire 2050, corporate services and resources select committee is set to recommend senior councillors in cabinet close the much-loved outdoor activity centre on August 31, 2025.

The final decision on the future of the centre, which offers residential opportunities for children with teambuilding, physical and environmental awareness activities, still needs to be voted on by the cabinet on March 18. That’s after the select committee discusses it and makes a recommendation at a meeting next week (March 6).

Despite all the public opposition, including 18,706 signatures on an online petition and “thousands” marching in protest, officers are recommending the select committee back the plan so the site can be used for a specialist secure children’s welfare home.

In the spring budget 2024, the government announced £120 million for maintaining the children’s secure home network and rebuilding two homes, Atkinson in Devon and Swanwick Lodge.

According to the county council, the Department for Education (DfE) has proposed an investment of at least £60m.

In a letter to Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport, the Ministry of Early Education Stephen Morgan – MP for nearby Portsmouth South – said that the total amount the council will receive is £90 million.

The money will only be available if the council makes a decision before the deadline, March 31, a date that the DfE said is a “line in the sand”; otherwise, the funding “will be lost”.

In England and Wales, there are 13 children’s homes. Referrals into the secure estate are coordinated nationally.

Swanwick Lodge currently provides support and care for up to 10 boys or girls aged between 10 and 17 years old whose behaviours present a significant risk of harm to themselves or others.

Questions were raised about “why” Stubbington and no other place had been chosen for the proposal.

The council said that an initial site search started in early 2024. In line with the Department for Education (DfE) guidance, the search was “limited” to land owned by the county council.

Sites that provide operational services were excluded from the search to ensure that we could identify an available site that meets the DfE’s timeline for delivering the new facility.

The initial review considered sites with an “appropriate scale”, available for delivery within the DfE timescale, related to the current planning context and those included in the asset disposal programme.

The shortlisted sites were then further assessed against the criteria of a minimum site area of 1.6ha and one storey as all areas accessible to children should ideally be on one level. It should also have good access, availability status, deliverability status, neighbouring uses and opportunity cost.

It is unknown how many sites were identified since the council report that contains that information remains confidential.

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Three sites were dismissed due to size, rurality and accessibility. In May 2024, land (site A) located within eight miles of the existing Swanwick Lodge site was identified as a potential option.

Additionally, Stubbington was identified as another possible site because of its suitable location, size, existing educational use, and the discretionary nature of its services.

After consideration, site A was dismissed since DfE’s specialist consultants identified that there was “insufficient developable” area within the site to meet the requirements.

Therefore, Stubbington Study Centre was pinpointed as the most suitable site.

In the public consultation, 4,960 responses and 523 unstructured responses (such as letters or emails outside of the official consultation channels) were received. Among them, 274 schoolchildren sent a letter to the council.

One child wrote: “Another reason why should keep SSC (Stubbington Study Centre) open is that it’s a great and wonderful place to be. So if you close SSC it will destroy local community and environment, such as fox and other mammals and mini beast and 14 acres and facilities.”

Another said: “Stubbington is a great place for the fox and badgers and children. I will miss the Stubbington biscuits and playtime. The laughter in the dorms is unstoppable. When the foxes go, who will feed them? Memories will vanish, children are mad. A place of joy now a place of sadness.”

The council recognised that the consultation “validated” that Stubbington is “well-loved”, “delivered to a high standard”, and “much-valued” by residents.

To mitigate the loss, the council proposed that the current provision at Stubbington could be re-located and re-provided at Calshot, Minstead, Runways End and Tile Barn, as well as a range of outdoor education venues, including the county council’s country parks.

Hampshire County Council said the new home was needed to cope with a high demand for specialist residential care with the county’s schools using more than 100 other providers that offer outdoor education opportunities.

The proposal will be discussed at the Hampshire 2050 Select Committee on Thursday, March 6. The meeting will be broadcast live on YouTube.