A group of parents have described shelved plans to close a nursery as “staying the executioner's hand” after being told the service may be scrapped next year.
Plans to close Bright Start nursery in Old Slippers Baths in Barrack Yard near North Road in Brighton were scrapped in the most recent council budget proposals after initially being included.
However campaigners fighting to keep the nursery open say that they will continue to fight after being told that the nursery’s closure will be revisited.
Suda Pereira, a parent helping to lead the Save Bright Start campaign, said: “We are delighted that people aren’t getting turfed out in April and we have got the council to listen for a year.
“My oldest went to Bright Start and my youngest is starting there soon and I would be left without child care.
“The idea of having to do this all over again, I don’t know that people have that fight left in them.”
Ms Pereira, 36, a lecturer at the University of Sussex, was among parents and children who protested by marching to Brighton Town Hall on Saturday, February 4.
Among those protesting included parents who need special support.
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Dan and April Kennedy, whose son has type 1 diabetes, said: “We tried eight different nurseries before we found Bright Start who were the only childcare provider that had the skill set, expertise and care needed for my son. He loves it there and can’t wait to go in each day. If it closes it would turn our world upside down.”
The campaigners say that a “disproportionate burden” is being put on nursery services for children under five.
A recent report by Brighton and Hove City Council found that the building in which the nursery is housed requires £500,000 worth of renovations.
The nursery was rated “good” by watchdog Ofsted in the most recent report.
A petition to save the nursery has currently been signed by over 1,600 people.
A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The council is facing extreme financial challenges. We have worked hard to protect as many services as we can for children and their families.
“However, the financial challenge we face means that we have had to make some very difficult proposals to make financial savings to services that are non-statutory. These include Bright Start.
“We know that Bright Start nursery provides good early years provision and is valued by many families within the city.
“Unlike many councils, we are proud that we have continued to provide council-run nurseries across our city, some in our most deprived areas.
“We have listened to feedback and this has led us to consider how we could change our proposal in respect of Bright Start for the financial year 2023-24.
“However, concerns remain regarding the ongoing viability of Bright Start given issues regarding the building.
“If Budget Council agrees not to make savings against Bright Start, we anticipate that further consultation with staff, families and other key stakeholders will take place regarding its future going forward
Councillors will make decisions on the budget for 2023-24 at a Budget Council meeting on February 23.
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