North East Lincolnshire nursery consultation unacceptable - council boss

Reynolds Day Care in Cleethorpes was one of the three nurseries at the centre of the "controversial" consultation

A consultation over the proposed closure of three nurseries in North East Lincolnshire was "totally unacceptable", a council boss has said.

The futures of two nurseries in Grimsby and one in Cleethorpes had been put to consultation, but after a backlash it was decided to keep them open.

However, council leader Philip Jackson said senior councillors were "unaware" parents and staff had been contacted.

It had caused "great controversy", he said.

Mr Jackson, the conservative leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, told a meeting that the question marks over the futures of Great Coates Village Nursery and Scartho Nursery School in Grimsby, and Reynolds Day Care in Cleethorpes, had "understandably caused great concern over the past month".

"The way in which this process was set in train was totally unacceptable, with the cabinet unaware letters had been sent to parents and staff, starting a consultation around potential closures of the three settings," he said.

'Scare stories'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council previously said the area statistically had a surplus of nursery places and occupancy levels at the three sites were "consistently low".

The closures had been proposed on the grounds that the nurseries were not financially viable and £1.5m building works were required across the three settings.

Labour councillor Malcolm Morland told a full council meeting the consultation process had caused "scare stories" to be spread about the proposed closures.

A number of protests had also been held by parents angry at the closure plans.

Margaret Cracknell, conservative councillor and portfolio holder for children and education, told the meeting the nurseries had all run up budget deficits in recent years.

The council was working with the nurseries and "looking at all relevant information" to enable them to be sustainable, she added.

An independent, external review would now be conducted to ensure lessons were learned after a "very challenging period", Ms Cracknell said.

In the wake of the row over the consultation, the council wanted to work with staff, governors and parents on the nurseries' longer-term futures, Mr Jackson said.