Nursery's plea for help to find new home

Shining Stars opened in 2019 but staff said the nursery may close if it does not find a new site before Christmas

A nursery is in a "race against time" to find a new home after being given notice to leave its current premises, according to its owner.

Shining Stars, which provides care for 70 preschool children, is based at St Helen's Primary Academy in Monk Bretton in Barnsley.

But the school has asked the nursery to vacate the site by March as it said the building was needed to create extra SEND facilities.

Amanda Goodyear, who owns the business, said: "Closing the nursery would be devastating for the community, people rely on us so much."

A potential new site had been found at Carlton Industrial Estate, Ms Goodyear said.

But Barnsley Council warned it may not grant planning permission for it to be used as a nursery because of safety concerns.

"I've been driving up and down every street round here praying we find somewhere," she said.

"The council offered us sites in Wombwell and Jump, but that is too far for our parents.

"Many of them don't drive, many of our families rely on food banks."

The nursery's manager said a new site needed to be found by Christmas in order for it to be ready in time for the move and approved by Ofsted.

Harrison Day, whose son Preston attends the nursery, said he was very worried about the possible closure

Harrison Day brings his three-year-old son Preston and two-year-old daughter Ellis to the nursery.

He said he was devastated to hear the centre may close.

"Me and my partner are already sitting up at night worried about what will happen," he said.

"It's like a family here. They treat the children like their own."

Elaine Micklethwaite's granddaughter also attends the nursery and she described it as a "close-knit community".

"People are struggling. Mums need to work, they need a nursery to rely on, on their doorstep, that's not too much to ask," she said.

Elaine Micklethwaite said the nursery was the hub of the community

Ms Goodyear said she had "pleaded" with the council to allow the nursery to move to the site on the industrial estate and had submitted a planning application to convert the building.

"We've answered all the concerns about safety, parking, dust and noise," she said.

"All we ask is that they come down and look at the site in person, work with us, let's make this work together."

But councillor Robin Franklin, cabinet spokesperson for regeneration and culture, said planners were worried about the location.

"We have concerns about the risks of existing businesses that operate HGVs and other commercial vehicles in close proximity to a nursery," he said.

"This has the potential to introduce significant safety issues when picking up and dropping off children.

“We empathise with the operators of Shining Stars Nursery, and our teams are committed to working proactively with them to find a venue that is safe and suitable.”

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.