FRUSTRATED parents fighting to keep their children’s music centre open in Thornbury have set up a trust to run the service themselves.

When families were told out of the blue that Thornbury Music Centre would shut down in September and that its pupils would have to relocate to Little Stoke, as part of the district’s centralisation plans, they embarked on a ‘rescue mission’ launching a campaign to save the threatened orchestra.

But after their pleas not to disband the group or to at least keep it going until Christmas fell on deaf ears, they decided to take over the running of the centre themselves.

They have now set up the Thornbury Music Trust (TMT) and 60 out of the 83 band members have already signed up to the new service.

Beth Turvey, 44, whose four children attend the soon-to-close music centre, said: "A large group of parents have decided to set the children's orchestra in Thornbury up as a charitable trust and we now have eight soon-to-be trustees.

"The majority of the children have decided to join and we have recruited back the original staff."

Mrs Turvey, from Tytherington, added the players were relieved to be staying in Marlwood School, where the orchestra is based.

They were dreading, she said, the proposed overhaul to the music services which would have seen children split from their friends and siblings and put in new groups with players from the Yate and Kingswood centres.

In a statement the new Thornbury Music Trust said: "Our aim is to maintain and enhance collective youth music making and promote excellence in music. The trustees of Thornbury Music Trust are confident in recruiting more members, as there is a lack of provision in Yate and the northern fringe."

South Gloucestershire Council’s plans to close Thornbury and Yate’s centres last month were met with anger from parents and musicians.

However, the authority defended its decision claiming that creating a single music centre, or hub, in Little Stoke would significantly improve music provision in the region. It also pointed out it had been granted £831,000 from the Arts Council of England for the project.

It emerged later that their proposal was also motivated by a need to cut costs and run one main centre instead of three.

A South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: "We wish this group well in making arrangements to continue to run a music centre in Thornbury. This will add to the rich tapestry of music provision in the district. However, it does not affect the council's decision to consolidate its music centres in Kingswood and Little Stoke."

For more details about the trust visit www.thornbury-music.org