Parents' relief as nursery finds new home

Sophia Sharif says both her sons are excited for the new site

Parents are "delighted" that an East Sussex nursery has found a new home after uncertainty over its future.

Little Fireflies Nursery in Uckfield said it was told by the Diocese of Chichester, which owns the site, that its lease would not be renewed past December.

The nursery has now agreed to move to High Hurstwood Village Hall in January, helping families they say would have been left without childcare if it closed.

Parent Sophia Sharif said: “We are absolutely delighted, not to mention relieved. It’s been quite a few weeks of quite a lot of stress, been quite tumultuous, and we’re just so happy that we’ve found a really great solution."

The nursery will move to High Hurstwood Village Hall in January

The village hall is a 10-minute drive away from the current site in Belmont Road.

Co-owner Debbie Buchner explained that the chair of the village hall got in contact after hearing about the nursery's search on the news.

Parents had spoken to BBC Radio Sussex about their fears when the nursery was looking for a new site.

A spokesperson for a group of parents said families had been left "in distress" given the "critical shortage of childcare options in our area".

Ms Buchner said: "They [the parents] were fantastic. They grouped together, they went to the MP, they went to the radio."

Five families are leaving the nursery in January when it makes the move, but all other children and staff will stay, according to the co-owner.