Hove nursery to be sold and children to move to new premises

A nursery building in Hove for children with special educational needs (SEN) will be sold after councillors gave their approval.

The proceeds of the sale of Penny Gobby House, in Palmeira Avenue, Hove, will be used to buy the Annexe building, in Connaught Road, Hove, on behalf of the charity the Jeanne Saunders Centre.

The decision was made by the Urgency Sub-Committee of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee at Hove Town Hall yesterday (Monday 18 September).

The council is the charity’s sole trustee, with the three councillors on the sub-committee being told that their role was to act on the charity’s behalf.

None are members of the Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee which will oversee the financial side of the sale of Penny Gobby House and the purchase of the Annexe.

Labour councillor Joy Robinson, one of the three councillors, asked why the sub-committee was given no alternative options but instead presented with a “fait accompli”.

The council’s head of early years Jo Templeman said that officials had spent 10 years looking for an alternative site for the Jeanne Saunders Centre – and the Annexe was the first to fit the bill.

She said: “It’s an accommodation that can be adapted in terms of meeting the needs of the children.

“With the differential between the sale and the purchase, we will be able to really transform that space into a high-quality early years SEN provision.

“There was never a suitable accommodation that was found. The Annexe was the first one that has been available.”

The existing site, Penny Gobby House, has four floors but no lift so staff have to carry children up the stairs to reach some of the facilities.

Once the nursery moves to the Connaught Road site, it will be based on a single open-plan floor with an outside area allowing the children to “free flow”.

Green councillor Raphael Hill asked if the assessment of the Annexe as a suitable place had included input from people with “lived experience”.

Councillor Hill said: “From my perspective, as someone who is autistic, I’ve had a different experience of education as a result of that.

“There are specific needs in terms of everything from the texture of surfaces to the sound insulation.

“There’s a lot of things that are very particular that children with special educational needs would require … best understood by people who experience it themselves.”

Councillor Hill was told that project plans for the renovation of the Annexe would follow the disposal of Penny Gobby House.

And those future plans would be brought before the sub-committee as it oversaw how the surplus was spent on improving the Annexe.

The youngsters with special educational needs who attend the Jeanne Saunders Centre nursery will continue to be based at Penny Gobby House until they leave to start school.

The next intake at the nursery which is rated outstanding by the official education watchdog Ofsted is due to start in September 2024 at the Annexe.