Axe about to fall on 22-year-old St Annes nursery as council decides not to renew lease

The axe is about to fall on a two decade-old St Annes kindergarten after Lancashire County Council decided not to renew its lease - just as a neighbouring primary school announced its plans to set up its own rival nursery.
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For 22 years, LSA Montessori has provided early years education to children who have gone on to attend Clifton Primary School, which operates within the same grounds on Clitheroe Road, St Annes.

Now it will soon be forced to cose its doors, as the school has announced plans to open its own governor-led nursery for 16 young children in September.

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A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: “The 20 year ground lease of the site of the current nursery expires in September 2022 and the nursery operator has been aware throughout this period that there is no automatic right to renew the lease. The council has decided not to renew the lease.”

Clifton Primary School, St AnnesClifton Primary School, St Annes
Clifton Primary School, St Annes

The spokesman refusedto say whether the decision not to renew Montessori’s lease had been requested by the school, however, an email sent to the nursery by the council, shared with The Gazette, read: “I have been told that the school may want to run a nursery itself on site in the future and this is the justification for not wishing to renew your lease.

They added: “Clearly, the views of the head teacher at the school are a matter that will be factored into any decision as to whether to renew (the) lease or not.”

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Head teacher Rachel Legge said previously that the school had no control over the authority's ultimate decision not to renew the lease. She said: "We've had a positive response from families and our local community to the proposal to provide a 16-place nursery for three and four-year olds from September.

"This would enable children to establish relationships early on, become familiar with the school environment and staff, and accelerate their progress on entry to the Reception class.

"We're currently carrying out a formal consultation on the proposal with our parents and carers, with the responses to be considered by the governing body in deciding whether to go ahead with the nursery."

LSA Montessori owner Wendy Mulela said: “My nursery underwent extensive refurbishment during this time, and as recently as 2021, with substantial financial investments made. The school knew about these refurbishments and made no attempt to mitigate our losses despite them having the knowledge that they planned to open their own nursery. The refurbishments would never have been invested in if we had knowledge of a school nursery, or indeed, the schools threat to the whole nursery, the building, our investment and our jobs.

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“For 30 years I have served the children of St Annes and this is a very sad time for us, to be thrown away by effectively one person who wants to improve her own standing. Such a huge set of skills and experience of the staff, cast aside for greed.

“This is not what we expect from a school that purports to be a caring, community based entity.

“The nursery was an investment, a pension pot, a nest egg for my retirement. As other similar nurseries have been sold, I envisaged the same for mine at some point, the proceeds of which were going to be used to develop my charity-based work."

She said the decision has 'not only destroyed the jobs of local people, the facilities for all our children', but also her life life savings and a future for her charity, Homeward Bound, which reunites lost pets with their owners on the Fylde coast.

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