In 2021, the women were made aware by the vicar that the Archdiocese of Liverpool wanted to sell the building because the church could not afford to carry out repairs. According to Nicola, the cost of repairs – which she says are non-structural – came to around £48,000.

A verbal compromise was reportedly reached in which the women would take over the rental of the building and pay for the repairs themselves. A third party drew up a contract which Nicola and Carmel received and signed. However, Nicola claims there was no response when it was sent to the archdiocese for agreement.

Nicola said: “I tried to contact them to ask what happened to the lease but we heard nothing from them.” Assuming the sale was stopped, the women continued their lives as usual for the next three years. “We just assumed everything was fine,” Nicola explained. “We kept paying rent and kept doing things.”

Then in April this year, they were informed by the vicar that the sale was going on. Nicola claims they have not received any official correspondence on the matter from the Archdiocese.

Nicola said: “The vicar told us personally that the sale was going ahead and we were offered different options again that we would pay for work and take on the lease. He told us we would have first choice to buy it. So I contacted the Archdiocese. I called them and emailed them, but we didn’t hear from them until July, and again this was just word of mouth.”

In July, Nicola and Carmel learned that the hall would go on sale for £325,000. They contacted their bank and consulted a mortgage adviser. He told them they would be eligible for a mortgage, but would need to raise £90,000 for the deposit. As the building is used for commercial purposes, the deposit is set at a higher rate than a residential property would be.

Nicola said: “We didn’t have the full £90,000, but we have about half of it. So we sent another email to the archdiocese asking for six to 12 months, just an extension. But we didn’t hear anything back.”

“We’re not asking them to give it to us for free or not to sell it – we’re just asking for a bit of time. We all have to save for deposits if we want to buy something – that’s perfectly normal. Working class people, if they want to buy a property then they save for it, that’s all we ask, is time and a little correspondence with them.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Liverpool said: “Following a review of Bonsall Hall, a decision was made to sell the building with the tenant in place. The nursery’s owner was informed of this by the parish priest in April 2024.

“The party farm owners are welcome to make an offer for consideration and have been invited to do so. The decision to sell Bonsall Hall is not one the Archdiocese has taken lightly, we have taken time to come to the decision after exploring all other options privately. Unfortunately, the building requires significant ongoing maintenance, repairs and financial resources that the Archdiocese can no longer sustain.”

When the ECHO visited Bonsall Hall on Thursday afternoon, the nursery was in full swing. Lively children were immersed in a ‘Disco Dough’ activity, which involved making shapes out of dough while dancing to Disney tunes.

They were supervised by the children’s nurse Joanne Temeldasi, who has worked here for 16 years and knows each child individually. Like many Bonsall employees, Joanne’s own children also came here. According to Joanne, many who once attended the nursery as children now bring their own children here, creating a “real family atmosphere”.

As the children played, oblivious to fears about the nursery’s closure, a group of mums told the ECHO the impact a nursery’s closure would have on them. Michelle Passey, 47, is the mother of four-year-old twin girls, one of whom has Down syndrome.

She said: “I was so upset when I found out the nursery was closing. There’s a real family feel here and I don’t know what I’d do without it. The girls would be so sad – they love coming to this nursery The children really love the staff and they are really attached to them.

“One of my twins has Down Syndrome and I already worry enough about her going to school and I wouldn’t know what I would do if this place closed. I couldn’t put her in another daycare, it would be too very disturbing for her.our kids are leaving in july but i still want it to be here for other families.i want other families to benefit from it.

Lyndsey Latta, 37, has four children. Her three-year-old twins are in the nursery, and she also has a four-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. She claims that she would have to stop working if kindergartens and after-school centers were to be closed.

Lyndsey told the ECHO: “I won’t be able to go to work without this nursery. I don’t have anyone to collect the children at 3pm. On the days I’m in the office, Bonsall will go and collect the children from school and take them and then it’s a leisure club too. For me, it’s a big part of our family life, a knock-on effect for everyone in society.”

There is a possibility that whoever buys the building chooses to let the nursery remain in place. But the uncertainty surrounding their future causes Nicola and Carmel great anxiety.

Nicola says she is worried that if someone else buys the property they may decide to develop it for other purposes. “It’s not knowing that bothers me,” she says. “They might buy it, then flatten the site and build houses on it.”

“We’ve looked at relocation and there’s nothing suitable in the area. Even though we moved, we do a breakfast and after-school and there’s 120 kids who go to our club from St Paul’s School down our road. What do we. we what about the children with special needs who come to us – where do they go?

The parallels with nearby Zoe’s Place aren’t lost on the women, and they are takes heart from the heroic efforts made to save the baby hospice from closure. Reluctantly, Nicola and Carmel have started a fundraising appeal to raise money for the deposit so they can buy Bonsall Hall. Nicola said: “The last thing we want to do is ask people for money so we can buy the property, but because they haven’t given us enough time we just can’t let it go to someone else.

“We will do whatever it takes to save the hall. We are thinking of the 300 families who use it too, as well as the 18 staff who are losing sleep over its closure.”

If you would like to donate to the Bonsall Hall appeal you can do so visit the nursery’s GoFundMe page here.