CAMPAIGNERS who fought to save the Susan Isaacs Nursery have been left devastated by news it is set to close for good this summer.

Hundreds signed a petition against plans to close the flagship nursery but yesterday Bolton Council issued a formal notice to shut it – blaming budget pressures and falling numbers.

Justine Shepherd, who helped organise the petition, said: "I am devastated at the decision. I just remember how much the nursery did for my son, who is now 16-years-old, and how far he came in a short time.

"I am absolutely gutted, gutted for the staff. Susan Isaacs Nursery was like a family, I am still in touch with staff now who looked after my son when he was four."

Mrs Shepherd, who lives with her family in Middle Hulton, collected hundreds of names for the petition – and said she met so many people who have a connection with the nursery.

The 43-year-old mother-of-two said: "It is the end of an era. The nursery was inspired by Susan Isaacs, she laid the foundations of children's learning, it's history and it has gone."

Julia Simpkins, secretary of the Bolton branch of the National Union of Teachers said a valuable resource will now be lost.

She said: "My members were very upset, for a lot of people who worked there, Susan Isaacs was their life.

"When I started working in Bolton, Susan Isaacs was synonymous with excellence in early years.

"It is the end of an era, but the reason for closure is government policy, and that is beyond our control. Nurseries in schools can now take children aged two.

"But what this means is this centre of excellence will no longer be there and not just for the children, it won't be there for early years foundation staff where they could go to learn."

If the council’s cabinet rubber stamps the proposals at its next meeting on February 22, then the Vernon Street-nursery, which has been educating children in Bolton since the 1930s, will close on August 31.

The statutory notice allows four weeks from today for interested parties to make their views known.

These will then be reported to the cabinet prior to the final decision meeting next month.

The nursery’s 22 employees have been informed of the closure notice and will now enter into a consultation period with the council regarding their jobs.

The council-run institution currently looks after 63 children from birth to almost five-years-old and a letter has gone out to parents regarding the latest development.