A High Court judge has rejected a legal challenge against Islington Council over the closure of a nursery, as the local authority says it will provide interim childcare from the site over the summer.
By Josef Steen, Local Democracy Reporter
A High Court judge has rejected a legal challenge against Islington Council over the closure of a nursery, as the local authority says it will provide interim childcare from the site over the summer.
Islington Council has confirmed it will take over all playgrounds and facilities under threat of closure due to reported financial turmoil engulfing a charity in charge of four sites in the borough. Islington Play Association (IPA) had managed four adventure playgrounds on the council’s behalf for years up until February, when the council “reluctantly” agreed to close the Paradise Park Children’s Centre after the charity surrendered its £4.3m contract early.
The move triggered protests from parents who have since tried to halt the shutdown through the courts, but on Monday (July 13), a judge dismissed their judicial review application as “totally without merit”.
Supported by dozens of parents, the claimants argued the council’s decision to pursue the closure breached its statutory duty to ensure “sufficient” childcare was available to the borough’s families. They also claimed the council had failed to act despite clear warning signs of the charity’s financial problems over a year before IPA surrendered the contract.
A High Court judge, however, found the application was “misconceived” since the council’s decision was a “private contractual matter” not subject to judicial review. “There is nothing to suggest [the council’s] decision was made otherwise than in good faith,” said Mrs Justice Eady, who ordered the claimants to cover the council’s legal fees totalling £36,276.50.
On behalf of the parents, Jonny Singer told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We are disappointed about the outcome from the High Court, but we accept the judge’s ruling.
“We maintain that it is morally unacceptable to shut an over-subscribed nursery, at extremely short notice and with no accountability. Closing Paradise Park will have a devastating effect on the community, particularly on lower-income families, and we will continue to ask the council to explain why they were blindsided by financial issues at a major contractor and how they allowed this situation to get so out of hand.”
On Wednesday (July 15), Islington Council confirmed it would take over all IPA-managed adventure playgrounds and safeguard 29 jobs. Though it will proceed to shut Paradise Park on July 22, the council will provide interim childcare from the site for a small number of children who have not yet been placed in an alternative setting, or whose placements begin in September.
IPA ran a total of four adventure playgrounds in the borough, which have seen nearly 11,000 children attend at least one site between April 2025 and May 2026, according to the council. Reports of the charity’s financial woes had fuelled speculation that all of these centres were facing closure, forcing the council to deny rumours there were also plans to shut a different playground, Crumbles Castle.
However, the council has now confirmed that all four playgrounds were in fact at risk of closure before it stepped in.
In a statement, Leader of Islington Council, Una O’Halloran (Labour), said the council had “worked hard behind the scenes” to ensure all the playgrounds run by IPA would stay open during the summer and beyond “with no gap in provision”.
“I know it’s been an anxious time for the families affected by IPA’s decision to surrender the contract for Paradise Park nursery. With enough childcare available elsewhere, it didn’t make sense to fund a new, permanent replacement, but we are committed to making the transition to alternative, affordable settings as smooth as possible.”
The council said it is seeking a new provider to run the four facilities in the long term.
