THE owners of Argyle Bridge Children’s Nursery in Tranent have stepped in to take over Wee Scones Nursery, which faced closure after more than a decade in the town.

Helen and Graham Robertson have announced that they have acquired Wee Scones Nursery, on Haddington Road, just weeks after it announced its plans to close.

The move has been welcomed by families in the town, who described it as “brilliant news”.

The owners of the Bridge Street facility, known as ABC Nursery, announced the move at the weekend.

Helen said that Wee Scones would remain open under its current name to continue operations with a view to changing its name to ‘ABC Nursery, Haddington Road’, in the future.

She said: “I am delighted we have been able to acquire Wee Scones and continue the service for the children.

“The good news for all parents and children is that there will be no break in service. The ABC management team are working closely with the current Wee Scones staff, with special thanks to Candy for all her assistance, to provide continuity of care and education within the setting.

“Everyone at ABC is looking forward to working in partnership with all the service users and developing the service provided.”

Wee Scones told its parents it was closing last month due to “unforeseen and personal family circumstances”.

The move was greeted with concern from councillors, who shared parents’ fears over the future of the service for families using Wee Scones, which provided nursery places for 45 children.

The nursery will now be run by Jacqueline Robertson, who has operated childminding service Precious Memories in Tranent for seven years.

Jacqueline announced plans to close Precious Memories last Friday as she confirmed she would be taking on the manager role at Wee Scones.

She said: “Although there are many aspect of childminding I am going to miss, I am excited that as of August 1 I will officially step into my new job role as manager at Argyle Bridge Children’s Nursery – Haddington Road (currently known as Wee Scones).

“I am equally delighted that most of our current children have made the decision to make the move with us and for those going on to school and nursery I wish them the best of luck in their very bright futures.”

ABC welcomes interest from families who would like to enrol their children at the nurseries. To contact it, email info@abc45nursery.com or telephone 01875 615 953 or 01875 616 629 and ask for Helen Robertson, Jacqueline Robertson or Leanne Imrie.