The parish has announced that Avranches Day Nursery, on Trinity Hill, is to close at the end of August after more than 20 years of operating. Financial losses – estimated to be £96,000 this year – have been given as the main cause.
Some staff and children will be offered the opportunity to move to the parish’s other nursery, Westmount. A total of 25 children are also due to leave this summer to start school.
A decision of the Planning Applications Committee to refuse an application for a new nursery building on the former Maison de Ville site, coupled with increased competition from private nurseries in the area and States nursery classes that have opened at Springfield and Trinity schools have been blamed for the financial problems.
In addition, St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft said that proposed changes to the free nursery hours provided to parents in the year before a child starts school had created uncertainty within the industry.
In a letter sent to parents this week, Mr Crowcroft, whose youngest daughter attended Avranches, said: ‘In recent years Avranches nursery has struggled to break even due to both the layout of the building and its location on Trinity Hill.
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