A NURSERY in Christchurch will close after Dorset County Council decided it was no longer “viable” to run.

Parents of children who attend Goslings Nursery at Somerford Primary School had signed a petition against its closure. However, cabinet members agreed to close the council-funded facility at a meeting on Wednesday.

They found “overwhelming evidence which indicates the nursery is not viable”.

The number of children accessing the service has dropped over recent years, according to the primary school.

Sarah Johansen, who fought to stop the nursery’s closure, told the Echo it was “a real shame” it would be shutting.

“I don’t think they did everything they possibly could to keep it open - the nursery wasn’t advertised and they didn’t cover lunch breaks. I’m a working mum and I had to pick up my four-year-old daughter from nursery at 11.30am before bringing her back at 12.15pm. However, the staff there have been brilliant and the nursery has come on leaps and bounds since my son, now seven, was there.

“Another eight children are going to have to find a new nursery now, and the one next door is fully booked,” she added.

As previously reported, funding of £30,000 per year for Goslings has been provided from Somerford Primary School and the setting needs at least 30 children to attend in order to break even.

The number of children on the January intake was 19, according to a report produced by the school.

The school said there was no guarantee numbers would increase in September and research suggested the demand from new families moving to the area was not as significant as some people believed.

In a report to Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, Nick Jarman, director for children’s services, said further nursery availability in the area had been established prior to the decision to close the nursery.

He said: “The local authority is satisfied that there is sufficient provision in the area. The closure of the nursery will ensure that the £30,000 per year cross subsidy from the Somerford Primary School will be used to deliver services to the statutory aged children for whom it is provided.”