Biggs wanders into nursery petition session

JOHN BIGGS ARRIVED at the (belated) Eid Party in the Christian Street Community Hub and Gardens on Saturday – just before a cloudburst that saw local revellers and Save Our Nurseries petitioners scrambling for cover.

Youngsters from Polyanna wait to perform while a Council officer makes an announcement.

The Executive Mayor did not stop to engage with petitioners and went off to speak with Council staff. Sadly he arrived just after pupils from the Polyanna Theatre in Wapping (above) had begun a performance.

A shiny fire engine was on view at Shadwell fire station

Before and after the rain, residents around Christian Street were keen to sign up to the Save Our Nurseries petition – with many mentioning that their children had used the services that were about to be closed. There was similar support from residents going to the Open Day at Shadwell Fire Station.

In the north of the borough, a second team of Save Our Nursery campaigners were out talking to residents in Victoria Park.

A spokesperson for Save Our Nurseries said, “We are now entering the last two weeks of the public consultation on whether John Biggs should close the last three council-owned, council-run day care nurseries in Tower Hamlets. We believe that the nurseries should stay open – and we know, from all the people we have been talking to this month, that closure is a deeply unpopular move.

Mums sign up in Victoria Park.

“It’s time for one last push. If you haven’t got round to signing our online petition yet – we would ask you to do it now. And then share the petition with your friends and neighbours and ask them to sign it too.

“We are also asking people who live, work or study in Tower Hamlets to complete the Council’s online public consultation. Remember, the questions are very sneaky. For example, the consultation asks the public to choose between closing nurseries or Children’s Centres – and of course it doesn’t have to be one or the other. That’s why we have provided a guide to filling in the consultation.”

•To sign the Save Our Nurseries petition, go to:
Petition

•To read the Save Our Nurseries guide to filling in the Council consultation (which includes a link to the consultation), go to:
Briefing and Consultation

•Read more about it:
Nursery campaigners surprise Biggs at suffragette event
Mum’s the word!” as Council silences nursery protest