Bridport: Leaky roof forces nursery to close (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Bridport: Leaky roof forces nursery to close

10:13am Thursday 4th February 2010

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SUNNY Days nursery in Bridport has been forced to close after the building was declared unsafe.

The 30 children on the register are having to be bused to the business’s Dorchester branch regularly throughout the day.

The older youngsters who come to the before and after school clubs now have nowhere to go.

Sunny Days director Joy Scadden said it just was not worth taking them to the county town for an hour.

She said they had been asking landlords Palmers to fix the roof of the West Street site for some time and with all the recent rain and snow water had got into the the building’s electrical system.

She said: “We have been waiting for some time for the work to be done on the roof and what with all the rain we have had over recent weeks plus the ice obviously it has caused more problems. Electricians advised us at the weekend that the electrical system is unsafe.

“We felt we had no alternative other than to close the nursery until the repairs have taken place. Obviously we don’t want to jeopardise the children.

We are taking between 20 and 30 children a day at various times like a shuttle service which is a bit of a logistical nightmare but we try to fit in around the parents’ working hours as much as possible.

“It is horrendous. We have an hourly booking system though obviously we are not doing the bus by the hour but we are trying to lump it together to accommodate as many as we can.”

Mrs Scadden said the main problems were the older children who come before and after school as it was not worth taking them to Dorchester for an hour.

She said they had no idea who long they would be closed or how long the work would take.

Mrs Scadden said: “We are trying to get things resolved but we are waiting on the landlord and building contractors. We want to get them resolved as quickly as possible because we recognise it is not ideal for the children.

“If we are talking about replacing the whole electrical system it is going to take some time but one would hope it could dry out and resolve itself but it needs the opportunity to do so and if you have a holey roof it can’t.” Mrs Scadden added: “We would love to find something else permanent in Bridport.”

Nigel Jones of Chesterton Humberts, property agents for Palmers, said: “There has been ongoing dialogue between Palmers and the tenant over a number of matters. Last week we scheduled repair work to start on Monday, February 8.

“I’m sorry they have had to close the nursery, but Palmers has done everything possible to resolve the roof issue as quickly as possible.”

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