CAMPAIGNERS battling to save the last local authority run nursery will stage a protest outside Bolton Town Hall as its future is set to be decided.

Harvey Nursery is earmarked for closure next August ­— just three years after it was saved following a public outcry.

But opposition Labour councillors ‘called-in’ the decision and won a motion at a children’s scrutiny committee meeting, meaning the controversial decision will now be debated by all councillors on January 19 at a meeting of the full council.

And campaigners will be out in force in the long-running fight to save the popular Nursery in a bid to persuade councillors from different parties to join forces and support moves to keep Harvey Nursery open.

The campaign is being supported by Unison, which represents nursery staff, and several local families who have used the nursery and believe it should be kept open.

Jane Howarth, Bolton Unison steward said: “Harvey Nursery is a well-established council-run day nursery that operates out of Harvey Start Well Centre. There has been a nursery on this site for more than 50 years.

"The nursery has been hit with closure three times now. The last two times this has been overturned and again we find ourselves with the third threat of closure

“We are preparing to lobby this important council meeting where the nursery’s future will be decided. We need our elected councillors from across the borough to come together and vote to save Harvey Nursery.

“We are asking for people to come along and join the lobby from 6pm onwards outside Bolton Town Hall."

The closure of the nursery will lead to the loss of 15 full-time posts and the relocation of around 50 children.

Town hall chiefs say the proposal to close the nursery “is one of the difficult decisions the council will have to consider due to the challenging financial situation” being faced and that it continues to lose upwards of £100,000 a year.