Closure of the Village Nursery

[Will]

I'm sorry to hear that Janette Blake is planning to close the Village Nursery in April as the Church has not been able to offer a secure lease on the current Old Church Hall premises.

Many local children (around 100) are placed in the Nursery, allowing their parents to work full time, as is so often necessary these days. And of course the Nursery offers local employment to around 10 people and its closure would no doubt have knock-on effects on other businesses.

There is a chance that the Nursery could continue in business but time is short and there is an even greater shortage of suitable places where it can operate. The Council could help here as they own land that could be made immediately available - the patch of the playing fields next to the Health Centre, perhaps, would seem a logical spot - but there seems to be some kind of problem with this proposal.

If anyone is interested in supporting the continued existence of the Village Nursery, please write to Councillors Archibald, Bhatia and Calvert, and anyone else that you think might have an influence.

And if anyone knows of any premises or sites on which the Nursery could be re-established, I am sure ideas from those who know the village better than me would be welcome.

[admin]

There's a new website that's been put together to help with finding the village nursery a new home at www.nutsaboutnursery.com where you can register to express your support and keep up to date.