A LONG-STANDING nursery forced out of its building to make way for flats is desperate for a new home.

Loughton Montessori Nursery, in Church Hill, Loughton, has been a fixture in the town for 17 years but the house it currently leases is due to be knocked down at the end of the year to make way for eight flats.

Manager Pauline Manning said with the new school term due to start she is desperate to find a replacement dwelling.

She told the Guardian: “We are losing a lot of children to school next week and because we are closing we won't be replacing them. We've already had to lay off one member of staff.

“Some parents are holding on in the hope we will able to relocate. It's extremely sad. Some of our staff have been here 13 years. We have one family who have put four children through here. We've built up a reputation and we want to bring that with us.”

"We thought we would relocate locally. We've tried various halls with no luck. It's got to be fairly close to where we are- the Loughton area if possible. Something with a garden for the children to play in . Maybe a hall which already has a playgroup in it.

Permission to demolish the nursery's current home was granted two years ago by the government against the wishes of the district council and the many parents who use Loughton Montessori.

Philip Staniland, of Broadmead Road, Woodford Green, had only recently signed up his two-year-old daughter Hadassa at the nursery.

He said: “It came as quite a shock us and we were quite sad. When we joined the nursery it wasn't without due diligence, and we were impressed by the education and play facilities.”

He added: “It's a beautiful building. That comes as an equal blow. While it's not the end of Loughton, it's by incremental stages we see the erosion of what we see around us.”

Anyone who can help find a replacement home for the nursery should call Pauline on 020 8508 1617.