WE are appalled at the cynical attitude that the county council has taken in its so-called consultation over its plans to close Greaves Park Nursery.

Clearly the vast majority of responses from the local community were against its closure.

If the consultation had been genuine, the County Council ought to have gone back to the drawing board, and considered securing the nursery's future, such as upgrading the existing building and giving parents more flexibility in the way that children are enrolled.

Proposals on these matters were made by green councillors in their consultation replies. But the County is obviously unwilling to make the effort to think outside its rigid framework. We call upon them to reconsider, because the process is definitely not over yet.

All the positive factors in favour of Greaves Park Nursery that local people were so clear in recognising, and indeed that Government Inspectors have also recognised, should not be thrown away in this callous fashion.

A small nursery class added on to Bowerham School will not find it easy to measure up to the standards that the nursery has established over the years, in the excellence of teaching, in its community atmosphere and in the quality of its outdoor environment.

The children in our district deserve a school with all these qualities.

Green councillors Emily Heath and Catriona Stamp