VIDEO: Peterborough day nursery to shut its doors after school terminates lease

Owner Alison Holmes with Charlie Croft (20 months) at the Rise and Shine Day Nursery, Ledbury Road which is due to close. EMN-170221-180856009

Rise and Shine Day Nursery, which is based at the front of the school in Ledbury Road, was told in January 2016 that its lease was coming to an end.

And with manager Alison Holmes unable to find a suitable place to move into, the day nursery - which has nine members of staff and 70 children - will be forced to close.

She said: “We’ve been here for 14 years and now we’re turning people away. Parents are phoning us and we say we are closing, but they still want to bring their children in for five months.

“All the parents are shocked. Some parents had three or four children come to us. They are already saying they are struggling to find other places. We have a very good reputation. We are only a small nursery which is what parents like.”

Alison said the school needed the building to bring in more pupils. She added: “We’re very disappointed because we had just got a really good Ofsted report and then got a letter a week later to say what Jack Hunt were doing.

“We had a good deal from the school. We did not pay much rent but I put money into the building. Jack Hunt put no money in whatsoever.

“I took over the old caretaker bungalow which was run down, redesigned it and extended it. It’s a very nice building now and they are going to get that for nothing.”

Staff, parents and children at the Rise and Shine Day Nursery, Ledbury Road which is due to close. EMN-170221-180837009

The governing body of Jack Hunt said it has “enjoyed a long relationship with Rise and Shine Day Nursery and has provided extremely favourable terms for the nursery business to serve many families over the years.”

Moreover, it said it was cancelling the lease “as a result of planning to meet the future needs of thousands of young people in the local area.

It added: “The governing body were keen to give the nursery every opportunity over an extended 20-month notice period to continue the success that the business has always enjoyed.

“The governing body has had to consider all available resources to ensure that the school continues to strive to serve our diverse community to the highest possible standards.

“Since the serving of the notice over a year ago, the nursery management has not formalised to the governing body any issues, concerns or responses relating to the termination.”