Parent protests set to halt closure of Norwich nursery (Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats)

Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats <info@norfolkcclibdems.org.uk>

Parent protests set to halt closure of Norwich nursery

October 30, 2007 12:00 AM

Barbara Hacker, local councillor for Thorpe Hamlet

Plans to close a Norwich nursery could be overturned next week as a result of protests by local parents.

Earlier this year the County Council made public proposals to close either the Starting Out Nursery in Thorpe Hamlet or the Woodside One Nursery in the Heartsease. But a dogged campaign by local parents looks set to have won both nurseries a vital reprieve, if Council decision-makers support recommendations put forward by Children's Services staff to keep them open for a further year.

A report that is going to the County Council's Cabinet next Monday asks for councillors to agree to keep the two nurseries open, subject to a review in twelve months time of the sustainability and demand for childcare. The report highlights the overwhelming opposition of local parents to the proposed closure including a campaign led by a Thorpe Hamlet Parents' Action Group, which culminated in a petition against closure signed by 347 local people.

Local councillor for Thorpe Hamlet, Cllr Barbara Hacker, who has supported the Parents Action Group campaign, says:

"I commend officers at the County Council for listening to the persuasive arguments put forward by local residents and for recommending that both the Woodside One nursery and the Starting Out nursery should be kept open. If common sense prevails and the Cabinet agrees to keep these nurseries open we will finally be able to plan future childcare provision in the Thorpe Hamlet/Heartsease area in a far more realistic way."