Axe to fall on two nurseries but third is saved

TWO nurseries serving deprived communities in Yorkshire are set to close but a third has been thrown a lifeline after local people stepped in to take over the service in the wake of the latest cuts in public funding.

The three nurseries, set up to help families in the Wakefield district, have been under review after senior councillors agreed the authority could no longer afford to run them.

Yesterday it was announced that Pomfret Neighbourhood Nursery, in Pontefract, will stay open thanks to an agreement between Wakefield Council and Pomfret Woodland Community Group which will see the group take over the running and management of the nursery.

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However no group has been found to take over the running of the Airedale Neighbourhood Nursery, in Ferry Fryston, and St Swithun’s Neighbourhood Nursery, in Eastmoor, Wakefield, and both will close later this year.

The news follows months of negotiations in the wake of a decision by the council’s cabinet last year to invite proposals from parents, carers, or staff to take over the nursery.

The authority is grappling with budget cuts and the need to make savings meant it could no longer continue to run the nursery itself.

There will be further discussions next week, but the intention is that the group will take over the management of the nursery within the next few months. Staff currently employed at the nursery will transfer to the new provider.

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Coun Olivia Rowley, Cabinet Member for children and young people, said: “I am delighted that the future of the nursery has been secured.

“This agreement means that nursery provision will continue to be available to local parents.

“We have been working very hard with the Pomfret Woodland Community Group to make this happen, and now it has. This has been a very difficult time for everyone concerned, but now we have a solution.”

Speaking on behalf of the Pomfret Woodland Community Group, Janine Hayes and Saima Sherburn, said they were pleased to have reached an agreement with the council and were delighted that a “much needed and valuable nursery” would now remain in the community.

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Council bosses said they could no longer afford to spend £171,000 each year to subsidise the three nurseries following the withdrawal of funding for the project.

The authority is also faced with having to find savings of £71 million by 2015 after cuts were made to Government funding.

The three nurseries were set up as part of an initiative by the previous Labour government to increase the number of childcare places in deprived areas and provide subsidised care for families on low income.

A report to members of the authority’s cabinet last year said: “Since Government funding ceased, the council has supported the neighbourhood nurseries however, in the current economic climate the council cannot continue to subsidise the financial deficit that the neighbourhood nurseries continue to accrue.”

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The report warned that any closures would lead to job losses.

Parents, carers and staff were offered the opportunity to submit proposals to take over the running and management of two other neighbourhood nurseries - Airedale and St Swithun’s.

However no proposals were received for the Airedale centre and the only proposal submitted for St Swithun’s Neighbourhood Nursery was withdrawn.

As a result St Swithun’s Neighbourhood Nursery and Airedale Neighbourhood Nursery will close later this year.

Yesterday the authority said both would remain open until September 7 to try and help ensure a smoother transition and help parents find other nurseries.