Nursery closures confirmed in council budget cut

Three of the Little Owls nurseries in Leeds are closing to save the council money, including a site in Chapel Allerton

Three council-run nurseries in Leeds will close as part of cost-cutting measures by the local authority.

Branches of Little Owls nurseries in Chapel Allerton, Gipton North and Kentmere will shut over summer, with more than 90 children affected by the move.

The confirmation follows a review of all 24 Little Owls nursery sites across the city, with parents holding several protests against the closures.

A council spokesperson said it could no longer afford to keep all of the sites open, with impacted children and staff allocated guaranteed spaces and work at other nurseries.

The proposals were agreed by Leeds City Council’s executive board on Wednesday.

Another 12 Little Owls centres could be taken over by other providers or merged as part of the review, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Nine Little Owls nurseries would continue to be directly operated by the local authority under the measures.

Parents have held several protests against the closures, including one outside the Leeds City Council meeting on Wednesday

Ahead of the meeting at Leeds Civic Hall, parents shared concerns childcare costs would increase if services moved to other providers.

Hattie Hodgson-Crome said: "It will leave our most vulnerable children without adequate support.

"It will also affect the economy because people will have to make the decision to stop working or training because childcare will become too out of reach."

Iain Dalton, whose son attends a Little Owls nursery, said parents wanted to know why the council did not hold off until after the general election to make a decision.

"We don't know the outcome in terms of local government and childcare funding," he said.

"We asked the council to not rush into decisions at the cost of disrupting so many lives."

Hattie Hodgson-Crome fears the closures will drive the cost of childcare in Leeds up

Council figures show the Little Owls service overspent by £1.9m in 2022/23 and £841,000 last year, with the review designed to save £900,000 this financial year.

Helen Hayden, the council's executive member for children and families, said the authority needed "to address the budgetery pressures now".

"We can no longer afford to mitigate against the challenges of keeping all 24 open," she said.

"We have to be sensible and we are legally obliged to manage a balanced budget."

The authority wanted to make the transition for the young children as "easy and as beneficial as possible", the councillor added, with alternative options near to the closing sites.

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