CAMPAIGNERS are mounting a last-ditch effort to stop a day nursery being bulldozed and replaced with flats.

Little Beans has already moved out of its Fernside Road base in Poole after the owner terminated its lease.

The business – which has another nursery at Garland Road – says it was “very upset” at moving out while the owner seeks permission to demolish the building and put up a block of nine one-bedroom flats.

A petition calling on BCP Council to reject the application has attracted 470 signatures, many from parents upset at the loss of childcare near key worker sites such as the town’s hospital and police station.

The petition at change.org, called Save Little Beans Daycare – Fernside, was started by Claire Crombie, whose daughter Lola went to the nursery and school holiday cub.

“I set up the petition as, like many parents, I do not want to lose the great childcare facility run by Little Beans. I wanted to have the petition in place ready to take to the committee to show that this facility is very much needed and would be greatly missed,” she said.

“My hope is that one day Little Beans could return to the site that they have been at for six years.”

A statement from Little Beans said: “We are very upset about the closure of Little Beans Fernside.

"Little Beans pride themselves on providing a caring environment in which children are able to learn and grow. We have even been open during Covid-19 to make sure key workers are able to work and to also ensure children have a loving and stable environment to go to during uncertain times.

“We believe that planning committees need to change their polices in order to support business to stay open."

The nursery thanked parents and the wider community for their support "through this very hard and uncertain period".

The building, a former home, is on the market for £600,000 as a site for redevelopment subject to planning.

Pure Town Planning, which submitted the application on behalf of owner AJ Developments, has commissioned a “community resource analysis” which said there was no shortage of childcare in Poole.

“The smaller nursery operators such as this are being squeezed out of the market by the provision of new facilities, often in purpose built buildings or in large halls which are able to maximise efficiency through scale,” it said.

It argued that “the redevelopment of a poorly converted residential property will have limited impact on local residents’ access to both childcare and community facilities in the immediate area”.