STAFF and parents have been left devastated after their funding plea to keep a vital nursery open failed to get any money at all.
The Play Council in Batchley, which cares for 140 children a week, had applied for a grant from Redditch borough council for £35,000 to keep going, but didn’t get a penny.
It means the Hawthorn Road centre, set up by former borough council leader Betty Passingham and a town fixture for more than 40 years, will shut its doors for good on March 24 unless another funding source can be found.
Its manager Janet Johnson, a Pride of Redditch winner in 2015 for all her work at the centre, has cared for thousands of children in her 24 years there.
“I just don’t get it – they know we do a good job yet they didn’t even tell us we’d been unsuccessful,” she said.
The centre, rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted, allows parents, many in minimum wage jobs, the chance to go out to work or study.
And although Janet recognises the local authority has had to make cuts, she feels ending their grant, which has shrunk from £56,000 to £35,000 over the years, is a false economy.
“They tell us we’ve got to be more commercially minded, but it’s hard to do that here – some people can barely afford what we charge let alone what the private ones charge.
“People trust us, they come to us for advice, who is going to help them now?
“Ofsted recognise we’re good, why won’t the council?”
In its heyday the centre employed 24 people, but since the cash has shrunk, it’s now just Janet, who sometimes doesn’t take a wage to make ends meet, and her two assistants, Debbie Jacques and Gail McQuaid.
“We feel abandoned and unappreciated but we’ve given people a good start in life here, I think because we treat them as if they were our own, they appreciate it, and they’ve gone on to grow up and do good things themselves,” said Janet.
The leader of Redditch borough council, Councillor Bill Hartnett, said: “We advised all bid organisations to find other funding sources.
“In the last five years we have helped more than 75 groups and they all provide valuable services, but there’s never enough money to go round.
“However there is still some money left (£16,000) for which they can still apply and which could help them for at least half a year during which time they might be able to find funding from elsewhere.”
If anyone can help Play Council in Batchley, call Janet on 07443 524213.
