Rother District Council Can't Stop Children's Centre Being Leased

Rother District Council cannot prevent a children’s centre building from being leased to the NHS, councillors have heard this week. 

On Monday (June 7) Rother’s overview and scrutiny committee discussed what influence could be had on the future use of the Egerton Park Childrens’ Centre, which sits on land East Sussex County Council leases from the district authority. 

Councillors heard that while the lease only permits the land to be used as “a centre for early education, childcare, health and family support”, Rother could not prevent the county council from sub-letting it to another group as long as this use remained. 

The discussion comes amid a long-running campaign to prevent the closure of two formerly county council run nurseries – the Rainbow Childcare Centre in Sidley and Cygnets at the Egerton Park building.

While a group known as the Bexhill Family Collective successfully opened the Dragonflies Community Nursery at the old Rainbow site in March, its bid to open a similar site at Egerton Park was turned down.

Following the unsuccessful bid, the county council is now in talks with the NHS over plans to open a “children’s health community facility” on the site instead.

While it was accepted that Rother could not prevent these plans moving ahead, some committee members argued for individual councillors to call on the county council to reconsider.

Cllr Sam Coleman (Lab, Sidley) said:

“I don’t know, if we lose this site for childcare, that there will be enough momentum, enough energy left, from those who have been campaigning for years tirelessly to keep their nursery open, to find another venue, whereas I think we can find another venue for the NHS service.

“I ask all of the councillors here, if we can’t do anything as the council, that we try and do our best as individuals to give children, especially those in poverty, affordable childcare in the hours of working parents.

“While East Sussex [County Council] will tell you that there is sufficient childcare out there, it is not for the hours that is needed, it is not at the cost that is needed, so there are children in Bexhill central and around that area who will be struggling to find places as a result of this. 

“So I just ask everybody to please consider writing to the county council, talking with your local town councillor if you are a Bexhill councillor, having those conversations. [I ask] especially those who are members of the party in administration at county council, because you have the power to change this.”

This was not a view shared by all present, however. 

Cllr Deirdre Earl-Williams (Ind, Collington) said:

“I am going to come up with an unpopular view now. I realise there is a lot of support and a lot of need for a nursery, but I think we have got to accept that it is not going to happen at Egerton Park.

“I just think an awful lot of time waste and energy is going on focusing on that building, rather than focusing on finding something that is actually doable and something that can be used with equal success. 

“It doesn’t have to be in Egerton Park, which we know the county council are adamant about and I don’t believe that we are ever going to change their minds.”

Cllr John Barnes (Con, Burwash and the Weald) also argued that alternative sites should be considered, but said he felt some compromise solution could potentially be found.

He said: “I am much keener on what I would say is the imperative, which is finding a solution, rather than trying to find a particular solution.

“I regret Egerton Park can’t be made available and I would urge the NHS to look at whether you can make better use of that building by cooperating with the under-fives rather than having an exclusive NHS use.

“If that is not possible then really we should be, as community leaders, trying to find a solution that is as satisfactory as the one that has been found at Sidley.”

Cllr Barnes also offered some defence for the county council, arguing that the authority had tried to find a solution. 

During the meeting councillors also heard that the restrictions on the building would also prevent it from being used as offices. Any such use would also go against planning conditions, officers said.

This is significant as Bexhill Town Council members have discussed the possibility of taking on the building as the newly-formed authority’s premises and retaining the nursery. 

No formal decision has been made by the town council, however.