Telford nursery to close after landlord terminates lease
A nursery in Telford town centre will close its doors later this year after its lease was terminated by the landlord, bosses have revealed.
Bosses at Busy Bees, which runs more than 300 nurseries nationwide, has announced its Telford Hall Park Way nursery will close on August 31.
The firm says parents and staff have been told and are being offered support.
The nursery, which has been rated outstanding by Ofsted, is in a shared building that is owned by the local council and operated by the Land Registry.
But Busy Bees says the Land Registry has given notice to the firm to terminate the lease.
Bosses say they have been left with no option but to close the nursery.
Divisional director for Busy Bees, Julie Boulton said: “We understand that this is a great shock and disappointment for staff, parents and children, especially as the nursery was rated as outstanding at the last Ofsted inspection.
"We are doing all we can to support everyone affected by the closure and we genuinely hope there will be places at our other local nurseries at Priorslee and Shrewsbury for both staff and children.”
Bosses say staff will do all they can to support parents to find alternative care and are committed to offering the very best care until the closure.
The firm says staff will also be supported and will be redeployed to its other local nurseries where possible.
Busy Bees has nurseries in Priorslee Avenue, Priorslee, and on Shrewsbury Business Park.
The nursery's latest Ofsted report, which was published in August last year, said there are 16 members of staff at the Telford Hall Park Way nursery.
It launched in 2009 and is open weekdays, from 7.30am until 6pm, all year round.
The nursery provides funded early education for three and four-year-old children.
The first Busy Bees nursery – The Rocklands in Lichfield – was opened in 1984, by three couples who were dissatisfied with the childcare options available to them.
Today, Busy Bees looks after 35,000 children across the country, in 354 nurseries.
The firm also operates two children’s centres and an independent primary school.
In 2013, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan invested in the business, enabling Busy Bees to expand internationally.
In early 2015, 70 Knowledge Universe nurseries across Singapore and Malaysia and Singapore’s Asian International College became part of the Busy Bees family, followed by BrightPath in Canada last year.
