An Ockendon nursery has been saved from closure after a church did a u-turn on plans to hike the rent up 400% following a protest by parents.

Parents whose children attend the Jack & Jills Pre-School which rents the Methodist Church Hall in West Road, South Ockendon, were given two weeks’ notice to find another nursery after being told of the closure by letter.

But the price hike was dropped following a meeting following a meeting with parents and nursery manager Carol Booth.

At first, parents expressed outrage at the hikes, calling them “extortionate", after being informed the Methodist Church had asked for a rent increase of 400% from £240 every four weeks to £1,300.

Parent Victoria Mehmet, 32, of North Road, South Ockendon, said she was “incredibly pleased” with the result.

Mrs Mehmet, whose four year old Oliver attends the nursery said: “It’s a really good outcome and we are all really happy.

“It was ridiculous what they were asking for. If the nursery had closed it would have been a massive loss to our local community of foundation years’ learning and jobs of five local people.

“Carol has run the pre-school for 20 years and for it to come to her having to leave the premises due to greed from the church which is totally unacceptable.

“We also only had two weeks’ notice to find another nursery for our children. But everyone is really happy with what they decided.

A 200% increase was dubbed by manager Carol as “affordable.”

Manager Carol Booth said: “It was a shock when we got the news, but I’m very pleased with the outcome. We are one of the cheapest nurseries around. We all agreed on what we could afford and we will have to put up our rates, but not by much.”

Methodist Church Superintendent for Romford David Jebb said the church had been paying the cost of heating and lighting and it was struggling to stay open at all.

He said: “I wish we could give it to them for free of charge, but unfortunately we have to live in a realistic world. You can’t get a price of £7.50 anywhere else in the area, let alone what they were paying at £4 per hour. The usual rent price is £10 to £14 in South Ockendon. It’s not a profit-making hall at all.”