A Brighton nursery that is threatened with closure will stay open until at least September.
Bright Start Nursery in Barrack Yard, off North Road, Brighton, had been expected to close in April after formal consultations with staff and parents by Brighton and Hove City Council.
But after protests and petitions by the nursery’s supporters, the council has agreed to take more time over the decision on the nursery’s future.
Council leader Mary Mears had already said that the consultation on the nursery’s closure would be extended at a stormy council meeting last month.
Councillor Vanessa Brown, the Conservative-run council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Our consultation over the future of Bright Start was launched with the aim of ensuring that the council’s resources are focused on the city’s most vulnerable children with the greatest needs.
“We recognise parental concern over proposals to close the nursery in April so we propose to rule out any change in status until September this year.
Potential
“In the longer term we want parents and other interested parties to come forward to look at the potential to ensure the nursery thrives in the long term through being taken on by the community itself.
“And in fact a substantial business case has already been put forward by one parent.
“I hope others will come forward and engage constructively with the council about this opportunity to take Bright Start forward.”
The council said that delaying the closure until September would allow enough time to see whether parents, staff or others would take over the nursery as a “community asset”.
It would also, the council said, ensure consistency for the children who are due to leave the nursery for school in September.
The council said that it would consider whether higher fees and higher occupancy rates would be enough to make the nursery viable.
A report to Councillor Brown recommends that, at a meeting next Monday (17 January), she should put up the fees for the nursery.
Subsidy
The report says that the estimated subsidy for this financial year for Bright Start has increased from £87,000 to £98,800.
With the same staffing and occupancy levels and the proposed increase in fees the subsidy for 2011-12 is estimated to be £77,133.
Green Party councillors welcomed the reprieve but said that the move did not go far enough.
Councillor Lizzie Deane represents St Peter’s and North Laine, the ward that includes the nursery.
She said: “Parents may not necessarily have the time or energies required to manage the nursery.
“Most have busy working lives already which is exactly why they need the nursery in the first place.
“The council’s decision is certainly a step in the right direction but we believe the council should not abdicate responsibility for Bright Start.
“Parents have expressed a wish for the nursery to remain in council hands so we will be calling on the working group that the council is setting up to explore ways to enable Bright Start to be financially viable but continue to be council-run.”
