Village after school club in danger of closing after being told to leave its current base at a Northamptonshire college

An after school club which looks after about 90 children could close down if it is forced out of its base at Moulton College, its manager and founder has said.

Picnics After School Club looks after Moulton Primary School pupils before and after they attend school and has been based at Moulton College since 2017 – but the college has told it to leave.

Picnics’ founder Tracey Hull has tried to take legal action to prolong her stay there and said there is no other alternative for her business in the village despite protracted attempts to find one.

The business bought a new property but it is expected that planning permission will be rejected by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) over concerns about parking.

“Whichever way I’m turning, it’s another rejection,” she said. Mrs Hull added the club, which employs six members of staff, is a “lifeline” for some working parents who drop off their children at 7am or collect them after school and remained open throughout the pandemic.

It also operates during holidays and works as an “overflow” in conjunction with Moulton Primary School, which can only look after 23 children at one time.

“Its closure [will have] so many implications on the prosperity of the school and parents being able to carry on with work and pay mortgages in houses they have bought in the village. There are no other childcare facilities that can take 85 children,” Mrs Hull said.

Moulton Primary School’s chair of governors, Rachel Keightley, said the loss of the club would be an “enormous loss to the school, parents and pupils”.

“[Picnics is] an extremely valued resource to those parents as it offers early starts and later finishes and offers the flexibility that is required for parents, a number of whom are key workers. The children love going to Picnics and if it were to close this would be devastating for them and also for their parents who are reliant on this provision so they can work,” she said.

In a statement, the college said while it “appreciates the inconvenience” the move might cause, it had given Picnics “an extended 18 month notice period to vacate the room” and help in trying to find an alternative spot.

Mrs Hull disputes this and said while her company offered to “renovate and take care of the building”, the college said that would not be possible.

The college’s principal Corrie Harris said: “As a result of increased student numbers at the college we have had to re-evaluate how best to use our buildings and facilities, including the area currently utilised by the Picnics after school club.

“We appreciate the inconvenience this may cause, however we did give an extended 18 month notice period to vacate the room and we have tried to assist in finding alternative accommodation.

“Ultimately the building, which is ageing, will have to be replaced with new facilities, however, in the meantime, the conversion of the space for use by our students is going ahead.”

But Mrs Hull added: “The implications of this on the village, school, children, parents, employees, and livelihood are huge.

“We have put so much work and effort into building a fabulous and safe location for our children and have the full support of the school and our parents now and in the future. We should certainly be part of the college plans from a community perspective, not a financial one.”