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A well-loved nursery is battling to stay afloat amid Town Hall plans to regenerate the St Luke’s area of Finsbury.

The East West Community Nursery faces a fight on two fronts after the subsidised school for children aged two to five was put into administration. It also fears it will not have a home in the redeveloped area.

Outraged parents have rallied around staff, who are working day and night to save the 30-year-old nursery.

A fundraising fun day was held at its base behind St Luke’s Church on Friday. The atmosphere was upbeat as people enjoyed music, food and games – but parents told the Tribune the loss of the nursery, one of the cheapest in the borough, would cause “tremendous hardship”.

Brenda Salmon has worked there for 30 years. “It is my life,” she said.

Leanne Byrne’s two sons, aged four and two, attend East West. “It would be such a shame if the nursery had to close. It’s such a big part of the community,” she said. “As it is not a money-orientated business you feel like that is not the sole motivation of staff.

“The extra-curricular activities they provided are superb and would cost a fortune elsewhere. Fees are the cheapest in the area by far. Without them I’d struggle to afford childcare for my boys.

“I feel Islington Council need to do everything in their power to save it.”

Sophie Deakin’s two-year-old daughter hated nursery until she moved to East West.

“It will be capitalism at its worst if they bulldoze this place,” she said. “I hope someone steps in and saves it because this is wrong. We need good community nurseries.”

Reuben Carroll-Reed (pictured on page 1 with a family friend), 12, son of nursery director Roula, said: “My mum might lose her job. Staff work really hard and they deserve to be here. I help out too.”

The nursery follows the Montessori style of nursery education. Similar nurseries elsewhere in Islington can cost up to £20 an hour, but East West still charges less than £5.

For several years the nursery has been fighting to ensure it will have a future in the Town Hall’s vision for a £50m regeneration of St Luke’s.

The council wants to provide new housing – including council homes – and to rebuild and improve the leisure centre. This will be funded by a limited number of private homes on the site.

East West thought its battle had been won when it saw plans for a nursery on the site earlier this year, but they claim the contract will go out to tender, meaning that a private or council nursery will probably move in.

Nursery director and former headteacher Nadia Mahabir said: “This is a unique place with a home-from-home feel. We know our families so well. We have children with challenging needs mixing with the children of artists from Shoreditch.”

Housing chief Councillor Diarmaid Ward said: “We want to make the St Luke’s area an even better place for the community by replacing 1960s buildings with much-needed council homes as well as new healthcare, leisure and energy facilities – including childcare.

“We have not yet made any decision on whether to put nursery space out to tender. If we did, any prospective nursery, in­cluding East West, would have to apply as part of a fair and open process.”