Kent County Council wants to shut the InfoZone Family Hub at 3 Palace Avenue, citing £450,000 of repairs and signs of subsidence. Comments close 17 November.
Kent County Council wants to close the InfoZone Family Hub at 3 Palace Avenue and move its services to other buildings around Maidstone. A public consultation opened on Thursday 24 September and runs until midnight on 17 November 2026.
The council says the town centre building needs at least £450,000 of repairs, shows signs of subsidence, and is too small to run the groups families ask for. Under the proposal:
- 3 Palace Avenue would stop operating as a Family Hub
- Parkwood Family Hub in Furfield Close would become Maidstone’s main and largest hub, expanding into space left empty by a former nursery
- the former East Borough Children’s Centre in Vinters Road, shut since 2024, would reopen as a Family Hub
- Greenfields, Westborough and Southborough Family Hubs would carry on as they are
- outreach would continue, including weekend sessions at the Kent History and Library Centre and work at Invicta Barracks
No decision has been taken. The council’s Children, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee is expected to consider the results in early 2027.
Why the council says the building has to go
The consultation document puts the condition and cost of 3 Palace Avenue first. It is a detached two-storey building between offices, commercial premises and the court buildings. It was Maidstone Youth Centre for more than 20 years and became InfoZone Family Hub in April 2024.
The document lists the problems:
- services are confined to the ground floor, because “significant works” would be needed before the first floor could be evacuated safely
- a 2026 survey of the outside found “a pattern of cracking” that appears to show part of the building has subsided
- the works identified so far are estimated at around £450,000, before any extra cost from confirmed subsidence
- there is no step-free access to the first floor, limited staff parking at the rear and no designated disabled parking
- the building is too small for drop-in groups for children aged one and over who are mobile, and has no suitable facilities for health partners
- staff and users have raised concerns about lone working and feeling safe
The council also cites its own finances. It says it has reduced debt by £142 million but still faces “serious financial pressures”, and that moving out would avoid the repair bill and the running costs.
How many people use InfoZone
Between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, an average of about 33 families a month used the hub, according to the consultation document. The council’s Equality Impact Assessment gives the year’s totals:
- 577 individual service users
- 387 families
- 377 children and 200 carers
- at least 45 service users with a special educational need or disability recorded
What runs there now, and what the council says would happen to it:
| Service at InfoZone | How often | Proposed future |
|---|---|---|
| Baby massage | Every Friday for two years, “always fully booked” | Runs at all other hubs; sessions would increase if requested |
| Young people’s information, advice and guidance drop-in | Weekly | Best suited to East Borough and Westborough, near the schools |
| Food parcel distribution | Continual | All hubs, including East Borough if it opens |
| Parenting courses | Six times a year | Another hub as venue |
| Young people’s emotional wellbeing and tutoring (partner-run) | Weekly | Space offered at other hubs if requested |
| Compass wellbeing courses for young people | Three times a year | The hub closest to most people on the referral list |
| Breast pump loan scheme | Always on offer | All hubs offer this |
Source: the consultation document, pages 11 to 12.
How far the alternatives are
The document gives the distances from Palace Avenue:
- Parkwood, Furfield Close: about 2.6 miles, around a 50-minute walk or a 10-minute public transport journey
- East Borough, Vinters Road: about 1.1 miles, around a 15-minute walk, and within about ten minutes’ walk of the bus station and the shopping centre
The council argues that for many families the current site is not the nearest anyway. Its worked examples, based on recent school referrals:
| Starting point | Nearest hub under the proposal | On foot to that hub | On foot to InfoZone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invicta Park area | East Borough | about 28 minutes | about 30 minutes |
| Valley Park School | East Borough | about 7 minutes | about 21 minutes |
| Mid Kent College, Maidstone campus | Westborough | about 17 minutes | about 28 minutes |
| St Augustine Academy | Westborough | about 21 minutes | about 24 minutes |
| St Simon Stock Catholic School | Westborough | about 14 minutes | about 33 minutes |
Source: the consultation document, page 10. The examples are the council’s own choices and all favour the move; the document does not give an example of a family for whom Palace Avenue is closest.
The options the council ruled out
Four alternatives are set out and rejected:
- Do nothing. Keeps the £450,000 bill and the ground-floor-only service.
- Move to another council-owned building in or near the town centre. The council says none is available.
- Share a partner organisation’s building. No suitable partner site has been identified.
- Lease a new building. Would raise monthly costs, and the only units of the right size are shops needing “a large capital spend”.
The document does not say what would happen to 3 Palace Avenue itself. Two of the rejected options mention that selling the site would bring in money. Councillor Paul Webb, the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services, said the changes “give us options around the future of the InfoZone building”.
Who the council thinks will be affected most
The Equality Impact Assessment says women are likely to be particularly affected, because they are more likely to carry childcare and caring responsibilities. It also flags possible negative effects for children and young people, older carers, disabled people and families with special educational needs, through longer or more expensive journeys, unfamiliar buildings and the loss of a routine.
The council says it would publish travel and accessibility information for each venue and offer familiarisation visits and a named contact if the move goes ahead.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet. InfoZone stays open while the consultation runs and until the committee decides in early 2027.
- To respond: read the consultation document, then fill in the online questionnaire. Paper copies are at InfoZone, Parkwood, Southborough, Westborough and Greenfields Family Hubs. Email maidstonefh@kent.gov.uk or phone 03000 419 470 for help, and alternativeformats@kent.gov.uk for another format or language.
- The deadline is midnight on 17 November 2026.
- If you use the Friday baby massage: the council says it is always fully booked at InfoZone and would be increased at other hubs “if requested”. That is the kind of specific point the questionnaire is for.
- If you rely on the town centre: the council promises continued town centre outreach, including weekends at the Kent History and Library Centre, but the document says the outreach offer “would continue to be reviewed regularly rather than fixed permanently”.
We reported the borough council’s separate network of food hubs and the Bread and Butter Thing earlier this month; the InfoZone food parcel distribution is a county council service and is listed above.
Sources
- Kent County Council: Have your say on Family Hubs vision for Kent’s county town, 24 September 2026
- Let’s Talk Kent: Relocating Maidstone Family Hub Services, consultation page with questionnaire
- Consultation document (PDF, 22 pages) and Equality Impact Assessment (PDF), both read on 25 September 2026
Figures in this article are Kent County Council’s own, from its consultation document and Equality Impact Assessment. The repair estimate of £450,000 is the council’s current estimate and it says confirmed subsidence could change it.
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