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site in, Battersea Park provided by the London County Council and
the benefit which the children had derived from the shelter there
the Society of Day Nurseries were anxious to open as many Shelters
as possible during the summer of 1938, and with this purpose in
view the Society had approached the London County Council to
enquire whether they would allow them to open fifty shelters at
various places.
The General Purposes Committee of the London County Council
felt that the scheme might well form the basis of a valuable social
service, as not only would the proposed nurseries be intended as
a method of caring for young children unable, independently, to use
children's gymnasiums, but they would also provide a temporary
relief for mothers and a partial substitute for the " nursing " which
older children undertake for their younger brothers and sisters.
The County Council were advised, however, that while no
objection might be taken to the nursery established temporarily in
Battersea Park, any extension of the arrangement to other spaces
might lead to the Council's powers in the matter being questioned.
The General Purposes Committee of the County Council were
prepared to consider recommending the London County Council to
seek power to allocate, by enclosure, a portion of open spaces within
which the Borough Councils or Voluntary Associations could
provide day nurseries under properly controlled conditions, but
before considering the matter further the Metropolitan Borough
Councils' views were invited.
The Council, in their consideration of this matter, directed that
the Metropolitan Boroughs' Standing Joint Committee be informed
that they were in favour of the necessary powers being sought.