A CLACTON pre-school has been given a glimmer of hope after the public hall it uses was badly damaged by a raging fire – leaving them without a home.
Melanie Hobbs, founder of Burrsville Pre-School, has announced the school will be moving into temporary accommodation at Playpalz Party and Soft Play Centre.
The move to the top floor of the Telford Road site, in Clacton, comes after the pre-school’s home of more than 40 years - Burrsville Public Hall - was decimated by flames.
The new temporary accommodation is only a short walking distance from Burrsville Public Hall and the group will be situated in a room previously used by The Old Rascals Pre-School.
It has not been confirmed how long the pre-school will be temporarily located there for, but it could possibly be until the end of the summer school term.
Melanie said: “It’s fantastic news, we’re so excited to have secured temporarily the upstairs of Playpalz soft play centre.
“Hopefully we’ll be operational again after the Easter Holidays or at least at some point in April, once we get the all clear from Ofsted.
“We would like to say a thank you to those local early years settings that offered us support and some other local places like the church and scout halls.
“We are very humbled by everyone’s generosity.”
The Burrsville Public Hall, in Gorse Lane, Clacton, caught light on Saturday at about 1.12am before two crews from Clacton and Weeley fire stations extinguished the fire by 2.30am.
The building’s decking was left badly damaged as a result while the hall itself has also been extremely damaged by the flames.
After the fire occurred, Burrsville ward councillor Chris Amos offered his deepest sympathies to those impacted.
He said: "The news of the fire is devastating for the community - especially for the children's nursery.
"Having been there since 1951 it has become a hub for the people of Burrsville and Clacton hosting many events."
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