Couple selling Perthshire home due to Killin nursery cuts
- Published
Georgie and David Pelly with their son
A couple say they are selling their Perthshire home due to cuts to the only council-run nursery in their area.
Childcare provision for children under the age of two at Killin Nursery is coming to an end in 2024.
The nursery confirmed the cuts after Georgie and David Pelly tried to register a place for summer 2024, as they are expecting their second child in December.
The council blamed financial pressures for the childcare cuts.
Ms Pelly told BBC Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live programme: "Our house is on the market and we're selling.
"We're moving to ensure that I can keep working."
The couple only moved to their house in Killin a few years ago.
"At the time, I was pregnant with our first child and we wanted to live rurally," said Ms Pelly.
"One of the main considerations was whether there was childcare - the fact that there was under-two provision in Killin Nursery meant that we could move here.
"No doubt other soon-to-be families or young couples won't be looking to move into our house right now."
Killin will lose its council-run care for under twos
She added: "We just need to be closer to somewhere with the provision we're looking for.
"I'm in a really lucky position in that I've been able to negotiate a geographical relocation with my company. Obviously, not everyone has that option."
Children who turn two after October 2024 will not be offered a place at the council-run nursery.
Stirling Council said the change to childcare provision was agreed in March this year when the local authority faced its biggest ever financial challenge with a budget gap of £17m.
However it said any places that were offered before the change will still be honoured.
Vicky Burns represents the campaign group Reverse the Cuts Killin who are urging the council to consider alternatives to cutting its childcare provisions.
"It's been a massive shock to the community," she said.
"It's not just Killin itself that's served by the nursery, it's also Lochearnhead, Strathyre, Crianlarich, Tyndrum, Balquidder, Callander and other outlying areas.
"It's the only council-run childcare facility in a 20-mile radius. The nearest nursery is a 45-minute drive away in Aberfeldy and it's privately run.
"The closest council-run nursery is an hour's drive away in either Stirling or Perth."
Vicky Burns wants the cuts to be reversed
Vicky told BBC Scotland that there are no registered childminders in Killin and the lack of viable childcare alternatives is forcing families like the Pellys out of rural villages.
"We're very sympathetic to the fact that Stirling Council has had to make some difficult decisions but I think this is a very short-sighted one," she said.
"I think it has an absolutely disproportionate effect on rural communities.
"It's widening the equalities gap for working mothers, it's increasing poverty for our most vulnerable families in the area, it's forcing people to go on universal credit and it's turning people away."
Campaigners have delivered a petition to Stirling Council with 600 signatures requesting a consultation on finding a creative solution to the cuts.
Childcare provision for ages 0-2 is not a statutory requirement and Stirling Council said it recognises the challenge the cuts pose for families.
A council spokesperson pointed to Scottish government plans to broaden nursery eligibility to younger age groups, which is expected to begin in 2026.
They added: "We continue to work in partnership with the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) to target recruitment of childminders in rural communities as an additional option for families.
"Killin is one such community with a joint recruitment campaign having taken place in the area this month."
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