CLOSING Greaves Park Nursery is a betrayal. The people of Lancaster deserve to be treated better than this.

Residents are quite understandably outraged about the loss of a uniquely child-friendly school, with its special outdoor play area and deeply committed staff.

As the co-ordinator of the local Green Party team, I oversaw the petitioning of hundreds of houses in the area.

We got signatures from more than 350 residents and in the whole time there were just two people I met who would not sign the petition.

The closure of this nursery was not necessary and is a kick in the teeth for parents and children alike. The County Council is now failing to tell everyone exactly what will happen next and when. This is making a bad situation worse.

For our part, Greens will work very hard to make sure that whatever happens next will deliver a high standard of nursery care and be thoroughly integrated with what goes on in local schools and the Marsh community centre.

Matt Wootton, Lancaster.