Nursery and school places saved thanks to Liberal Democrat campaigning

Vigorous campaigning by Daisy Cooper MP and local Liberal Democrat County Councillors has led to nursery and school places being saved for local families after the Conservative-controlled Herts County Council was finally forced to take action.

At a meeting of the Conservative-controlled County Council Cabinet on Tuesday 9 July, the long-running battle to save Muriel Green Nursery was finally won. In the same meeting, after significant interventions by St Albans MP Daisy Cooper and local county councillors, Herts County Council accepted that it needed to expand the intake at Beaumont School permanently.

Daisy Cooper MP for St Albans said ‘‘The battle to save Muriel Green Nursery should not have taken anything like this long and the Beaumont School place fiasco should never have happened in the first place.

‘‘The communication from Herts County Council to county councillors and me was poor throughout. In the case of Beaumont School, the breakdown in communication between the Conservative controlled Hertfordshire County Council and the Department for Education caused an understandable storm of anger from residents.

‘‘We are very pleased that our calls for the permanent expansion of Beaumont School have been accepted and that the future of Muriel Green Nursery is now certain, in spite of the difficulties we have faced in reaching this conclusion.’’

Chris White, Liberal Democrat County Councillor for St Albans Central Division said, ‘’We are delighted that Muriel Green Nursery has been saved from probable closure. This wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless campaigning of Daisy and her team who have worked to ensure the future of Muriel Green Nursery is secure.”

Herts County Council has now accepted that it needs to buy the building on Church Crescent which is currently partly leased to Muriel Green Nursery, so as to prevent the hugely popular and important nursery being forced to close.

Responding to the news that an additional form at Beaumont School would become permanent, Anthony Rowlands, Liberal Democrat County Councillor for St Albans East Division said:

“Herts County Council should and could have prevented the Beaumont School place fiasco. We are delighted that the Beaumont School expansion will be permanent. This overdue decision will allay the concerns of many parents.”