The leader of St Albans City and District Council has called on Hertfordshire County Council to purchase a city nursery.
Staff at Muriel Green Nursery were previously informed that the NHS is hoping to complete a sale of the property before the end of the financial year.
READ MORE
- Food vans offered six month extension with ‘food and social hub’ now unlikely
- Free parking to be reviewed at St Albans and Harpenden locations
Hertfordshire County Council has been given first refusal on the sale of the premises.
The authority currently rents the property from NHS Property Services, in order to run the nursery.
Cllr Chris White said: "It is impossible to overstate the value of this facility to the community, both in terms of delivering basic nursery education and in terms of the role it performs in early years Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) education.
“Given the level of underfunding of special needs in Hertfordshire - which has come to light because of campaigning by the Liberal Democrats - it is even more vital that what we have is protected.
"We have seen warm words: but we now need to know what actions will follow.
“Parents and governors have had an anxious wait and it is time the waiting was over and the future secured.”
In November, NHS Property Services told The Herts Advertiser that they “do not anticipate any risk” to the nursery’s future.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: "The property at Church Crescent is currently leased by us to Hertfordshire County Council on a long leasehold.
"After proactively engaging with them to discuss the building’s status we are now in positive discussions with them about its future long-term ownership.
“We do not anticipate any risk to the Muriel Green Nursery as a result and we hope to conclude these negotiations with the council, resulting in a positive outcome for all parties, in the near future.”
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper added: "Good quality child-care is incredibly hard to come by and potentially losing this provision in St Albans is deeply concerning.
“Families in Hertfordshire are already being short-changed by the government, as SEND funding in Buckinghamshire was £823 per head for 2021-2022, while for Hertfordshire it was only £549.
“I wrote to Herts County Council on July 27, 2022, inviting them to write to the Minister with this information.
"Despite my chasing several times, HCC only responded to me just before Christmas.
“While I continue my campaign to call on the Conservative government to provide fair SEND funding, I’m also backing Chris White’s calls for the Conservative-led county council to start prioritising SEND, and to buy the Muriel Green nursery building."
When asked for their response to Cllr White's comments, a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council told The Herts Advertiser: "We are aware that the NHS is considering selling the building in Church Crescent, St Albans, that we rent from them as a base for Muriel Green Nursery.
"The nursery provides important education and childcare facilities for working parents in St Albans, so we are keen that it is able to continue operating.
"We are speaking to the NHS about the potential impact of their plans and looking at the possible options.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here