Greengables Nursery closure decision: letter to City of Edinburgh Council

Letter from Education Directorate to City of Edinburgh Council, with decision to close Greengables Nursery.


To: Amanda Hatton, City of Edinburgh Council
From: Alison Taylor, Governance, Digital and Infrastructure 

11 May 2026

Dear Amanda,

Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010: City of Edinburgh Council decision - Greengables Nursery School

I refer to your email of 25 March 2026 notifying Scottish Ministers of City of Edinburgh Council’s decision of 19 March 2026 to implement the proposal to close Greengables Nursery School and relocate onto an onsite ELC centre as part of the Council’s proposal to build a nondenominational primary school at Hunter’s Hall Park in August 2029, at the earliest. Ministers have considered this proposal in line with the requirements set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”).

Under section 17 of the 2010 Act, Ministers may only issue a call-in notice if it appears to them that the education authority may have failed:

(a) in a significant regard to comply with the requirements imposed on it by (or under) the Act so far as they are relevant in relation to the closure proposal, or

(b) to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision to implement the proposal.

Section 15(2) of the 2010 Act requires an education authority to provide a copy of the proposal paper and the consultation report prepared under the Act to Ministers when notifying them of a closure proposal.

Section 15(4) of the 2010 Act requires Ministers to take into account any relevant representations made to them by any person during the three-week period from the date that a closure decision is made. In relation to this closure proposal, the three-week period began on 19 March 2026 and expired on 8 April 2026. No representations were received.

Having reviewed the documents provided by City of Edinburgh Council under section 15(2) and considered all relevant representations made under section 15(4), Ministers consider that City of Edinburgh Council has fulfilled its obligations under the 2010 Act and do not intend to issue a call-in notice for this proposal.

City of Edinburgh Council may now implement its decision to close Greengables Nursery School in line with the timescales set out in its proposal paper.

Yours sincerely,

Alison Taylor
Deputy Director, Governance, Digital and Infrastructure Division, Education Directorate

Back to top