Hackney Council Drops High Court Case Regarding Nursery Closures After Consultation Deemed “Unlawful”

A High Court legal challenge concerning proposals to shut down children’s centres in east London has concluded, following Hackney Council’s acknowledgment that its public consultation was “unlawful”. The council had intended to close Fernbank and Sebright children’s centres, located in Stoke Newington and Haggerston respectively, as part of an initiative to reduce 129 out of 600 subsidised childcare places. However, activists initiated legal proceedings, asserting that alternative solutions were not considered and that the council’s consultation had “misled the community”. Prior to a scheduled final hearing, Hackney Council conceded that its consultation documents were “not sufficiently clear” and, acting on legal advice, declared it was “settling by consent”. The council indicated its intention to unveil forthcoming plans shortly. The council’s proposals also included a planned reduction to term-time-only childcare services at Oldhill children’s centre in Clapton and Hillside in Stamford Hill. Families whose children attended the impacted nurseries engaged solicitors to contest Hackney Council’s plans for service closures. This collective, identified as “Save Hackney Children’s Centres”, secured funding through a crowdfunding platform and received legal aid. Before a final High Court hearing, the council acknowledged that its “Children’s Centre Childcare Consultation”, which took place from 31 January to 24 April 2024, was “unlawful”. Subsequent to the council’s choice to discontinue the case, the presiding judge mandated that the council cover the campaigners’ legal expenses. Natalie Aguilera, a parent with a child at Fernbank Nursery, commented: “The truth is that closing Sebright and Fernbank children’s centres and reducing services at Hillside and Oldhill is a political choice, made at the expense of the youngest members of our community who cannot yet speak for themselves.” She further stated that the families “urge the council to recognise the clear strength of feeling in the community” and expressed their desire for the council to “commit to not cutting or closings its children’s centres”. Tim Cowbury, a parent of two nursery-aged children, remarked: “My family relies so much on these services. Hopefully, the council understands how significant the impact would have been to local families had it gone through with its proposals, and that it won’t therefore go ahead with any changes to these vital services.” A spokesperson representing Hackney Council affirmed: “The council stands by the need to make changes to the way we provide subsidised childcare in order to make our early years provision more sustainable, as a result of rising costs, staffing challenges and overall financial pressures on local authorities.” The spokesperson additionally stated: “However in light of the advice we have received we do not believe it is in residents’ best interests to use any further resources to defend the legal challenge.” “We will take this opportunity to review our approach on how to make our early years provision more sustainable in the future, and present future plans as soon as it is practically possible.”