Kindergarten chop: Nursery to move on? (From Your Local Guardian)

Coombe Kindergarten could face the chop as Kingston Council confirm they will be served an enforcement notice

5:00am Sunday 14th October 2012 in Top Stories By Clare Buchanan

Pre-school children may be forced from their nursery after the council confirmed it would be served an enforcement notice this month.

Kingston Council’s decision comes after Coombe Kindergarten failed to get planning permission for its base in the scout hall in Tadworth Avenue, New Malden.

The council said the move would force the nursery to find a new site within three months, but the kindergarten’s representative Alison Cook said in an email that was not strictly true.

She was not available to give any further information but the nursery’s website indicated care sessions were still running and advertising spaces were still available.

Kingston Council said planning permission was refused in August because of the lack of parking and safety concerns in Tadworth Avenue and surrounding roads.

The owner of the two-storey detached hall believed planning permission was not needed for a public hall or church hall and could be used for a nursery without a planning application.

A Kingston Council spokesman said: “The council is in the process of undertaking the various background actions that are required prior to serving the notice.

“The council would expect the notice to be served this month.”

The kindergarten provides term-time care for up to 40 children, aged between two and five, from Monday to Friday and employs seven full-time members of staff.

It was founded in 1972, was taken over by the current owner in 1996, and moved to the scout hall after the lease ran out at the parish hall in Christ Church, in Cambridge Avenue, in 2011.

An Ofsted report in February this year rated the nursery as good overall, the second best rating possible, and some elements were given the top score of outstanding.

The report said: “Children clearly enjoy their time in this inclusive and stimulating environment.

“They are keen to come into the play room and quickly become involved in a wide range of activities of their choice.”

Does your child attend Coombe Kindergarten? Get in touch with reporter Clare Buchanan on 020 8744 4264 or email cbuchanan@london.newsquest.co.uk.