PARENTS have been left in utter shock and dismay after losing a battle to save a well-loved nursery.

Pupils, parents and staff took to the streets of Lancaster in droves to protest at Lancashire County Council's plans to shut Greaves Park Nursery.

But on Tuesday the county ignored their cries and voted to close the nursery from next August.

The county council blames falling birth rates and the £100,000 it costs each year to maintain the old' building.

It says that, during recent public consul-tation, an overwhelming' number of people agreed Greaves Park should be closed.

Next year, 44 places will be created at a new Willow Lane nursery and 26 places at Bowerham County Primary School.

But Cllr Shelia Denwood is urging the protestors not to give up yet.

"I am disappointed and disgusted that the county has decided that a great nursery will be closed," she says.

"But if people stick together and write letters and e-mails or make telephone calls to the county to lodge their objections then we can win this as a team."

from Page 1 Cllr Janet Horner, a governor at Greaves Park dubbed a magical paradise' by supporters is also disgusted at the outcome and disagrees that the majority of people wanted the nursery to be closed.

"You just have to look at the sheer number who turned up for the protest and public meeting - people very much wanted it to stay open.

"I feel sorry for the staff because they have made it wonderful. It does not matter where the children go they will never get another Greaves Park nursery," she says.

Mary Neil, whose three children attended the nursery school, says parents are disappointed.

"My children all had a happy experience at the school and we believe that that opportunity should be available to other children. We did try and an awful lot of people put in a lot of effort to keep it open for children in the future."

But Barbara Wignall, head teacher of Greaves Park, told the Citizen that closing the school could be best for the community.

" At the end of the day we can't get away from the fact that this is an old building. We look forward to meeting the needs of families in Lancaster and hopefully with the move we can better their needs. This is a good way to move forward."

County Cllr Clive Grunshaw, cabinet member for children and families, says the decision was made to help improve childcare services in Lancaster.

"We consulted with a wide variety of people and the overwhelming response was that people were in favour of option two which is to close the nursery. That is the decision we took.

"We feel that closing the nursery meet the demands of the Lancaster area," he says.

Head teacher at Bowerham County Primary school, Cairine Scullion, says: "Providing children with a good start to their education is not about buildings, but is about the skill and hard work of the people who work there.

"I will be working hard during the transition to make sure that everything runs smoothly and that the children continue to receive the best start to their school life."