DISTRAUGHT parents are up in arms over the 11th-hour decision to close a popular Aberystwyth nursery, with the loss of 16 jobs, despite assurances just last month that “no decisions” had been taken over its future.

The Cambrian News reported early last year that Aberystwyth University was looking at plans to close the Penglais Nursery after it posted losses of over £150,000.

Throughout months of consultations with staff members and meetings between university chiefs, led by pro-vice chancellor Rebecca Davies, the university maintained that all options were being considered and that no firm plans for the nursery’s closure had been made.

Now, with just over a month’s notice, the university has written to parents to tell them that the loss-making facility will be axed from 1 August.

The 16 staff at the nursery, who were asked to take an across-the-board pay cut of 10 per cent to save the facility, have either accepted redundancy packages or have been “redeployed” within the university, a university spokesperson said.

An Aberystwyth University spokeswoman said: “This is not an easy time for any of the parties involved, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their hard work and to apologise to parents for the difficulty arising from this decision.”

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