FAMILIES in and around Wallingford have celebrated the opening of Oxfordshire's first new community-run children's centre.

Villagers dropped in at Cholsey Pavilion on Saturday at the official opening of the new facility.

With children's centres under threat across the county because of Oxfordshire County Council funding cuts, Cholsey parish council decided it would be a good idea to launch its own, known as the Happy Hub.

County councillor for Benson and Cholsey Mark Gray said he hoped other communities would follow Cholsey's lead and also set up new children's centres.

Mr Gray, who is also Cholsey Parish Council chairman, said: "Everyone is delighted that Cholsey now has its own children's centre and I really do think this could be a model for other communities.

"When you look at the programme we will be running it is not dissimilar to those being run by other children's centres and they are spending about £150,000 a year, but we will not be offering any outreach work - that will be on offer at the intervention hubs.

"What most users want to see is stay and play activities and that is what we will mostly offer.

"We can also offer low-level family support by referring people to other services and agencies, like debt support and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

"This is a vital facility for Cholsey and I'm sure it will be here for years to come because we have the funding for it.

"I am confident that efforts to save Wallingford and Berinsfield children's centres will be successful."

The new children's centre, based in changing rooms at the pavilion, will provide about eight stay and play sessions a week, and lunch sessions two or three times a week to support local families.

There are three members of staff led by team leader Felicity Emmerson and a team of volunteers is being created.

Children’s centres across the county, and seven early intervention hubs, are under threat due to proposed county council funding cuts.

Under the council's latest plans it would no longer fund 31 out of 44 children's centres, and two of seven early intervention hubs after March.

The Cholsey initiative will be backed by £16,000 a year from the parish council, and donations of about £10,000 a year from community fundraising.

Mr Gray has been touring children’s centres to see how many could be saved by community volunteers.

He said: "If we could get 15 new children's centres across the county, like the one in Cholsey, we could band together to bid for funding.

"I think a Flag Day for children's centres next year would be a great idea and could bring in thousands."

Miss Emmerson, 25, from Oxford, said: "We will have something happening every day of the week and lots of mums have already signed up for baby signing and baby massage sessions."

Wallingford Children’s Centre is run from the site of a former evangelical church in Wigod Way.

The town council led an initiative to build the £300,000 Wigod Centre and it opened in 2014 as a children’s centre and base for the town’s youth club after the former youth centre in Clapcot Way closed.