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Cresswood Nursery children, staff and parents |
Nursery saved from closure
Group told it can stay as eviction plans are scrapped at 11th hour
A NURSERY was given a last-minute reprieve last night (Wednesday) when plans to evict it from a tenants hall in Gospel Oak were abandoned.
In bizarre circumstances, the New Journal was told of the decision to save the Cresswood Nursery in Queen’s Crescent before its own management knew.
The 11th-hour turnaround followed months of wrangling over the use of the hall on the Cressfield and Woodyard estate which looked like it would mean the end for the private operation.
Until late last night (Wednesday), its owner, three staff members and 18 children on the roll thought they faced eviction.
Jill Allery, who has run Cresswood for just under 20 years, responded to the shock news with caution.
She said: “I have still not seen a licence from the council allowing the nursery to stay despite numerous assurances that it is on its way. The last contact I had from the council was that I should leave the hall on August 14. I can only hope that a licence can be agreed very soon before 20 nursery places are lost and four local residents lose their jobs.”
The nursery has, until now, paid for the upkeep of the building and all its bills and argue it would be dilapidated without their care over the years.
But a change in membership of the tenants and residents association on the estate brought requests for the tenants hall to be used for more than just a private nursery. Group chairwoman Quinny Kitchen said she wanted to see the private nursery paying rent and leaving the hall free in the evenings.
“They’ve got space for 20 and can earn £4,000 a week but they have never given anybody as much as a box of biscuits to the tenants and residents association,” said Ms Kitchen, who wants to hold scout meetings and pensioners evenings in the hall. “It’s a building that should be used by the community and open to all.”
But the Town Hall press office informed reporters at 3.30pm yesterday that the nursery would be saved, releasing a statement which said: “We are keen to see the nursery continue to provide valuable places for 3 to 5-year-olds. We have been liaising with the tenants and residents association (TRA) and can confirm that a way forward has been found to allow the nursery to remain at Cresswood hall.”
A Town Hall spokesman defended its decision to send an eviction notice to Ms Allery in May as part of a “formal process”. |
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