The Oranges and Lemons community nursery is set to close due to delays to the construction of a purpose-built nursery (News, 26 July). The council will not allow it to remain in temporary council-owned premises and has removed its grant. New temporary accommodation has been found at Burbage School and a registration and inspection officer has told Hackney EYDCP the premises are suitable, but the nursery will close unless the council restores its grant.
Last week acting Hackney EYDCP chair Mick Conway wrote to the council asking it to restore the grant. He wrote, 'The EYDCP is extremely anxious that existing places provided by Oranges and Lemons and other nurseries are maintained in order that substantial additional Department for Education and Skills (DfES) funding totalling over 3m can be accessed to create additional places.
'The DfES partnership advisor and neighbourhood nurseries advisor, who were present at the meeting, confirmed that the new funding is strictly additional, ie it cannot be used to re-open places closed by the council.' An emergency motion proposed by Andrew Bridgewater, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Hackney Council, at last week's council meeting was not heard. He said, 'I suspended the council standing orders to allow the motion to be proposed but all Labour councillors present voted against it. This is the same Government that has just announced 40m more for nursery provision. It goes against everything they are meant to stand for.
'I can only think that the council does not know what is going on. They are desperately trying to manage a budget by cutting what they see as non-statutory provision but there has to be a better way.' He has asked for a meeting with Hackney education director Alan Wood, Oranges and Lemons and Hackney EYDCP to resolve the matter.