A well-regarded nursery school in Carmarthenshire will close this summer despite fierce opposition from parents.

Ammanford Nursery School’s approximately 80 pupils will transfer to Ysgol Gymraeg Rhydaman and to Ysgol Bro Banw, where the age range will be lowered from the current four to 11 to three to 11.

A majority of Carmarthenshire councillors approved the closure at a meeting on June 10.

A consultation on the proposal last autumn triggered 121 responses, most of which opposed it. A further consultation this year following a decision by cabinet to publish a statutory notice led to 29 responses, 25 of which objected with the other four in support.

Several objectors cited a recent inspection report by Welsh education watchdog Estyn, which described Ammanford Nursery School pupils as happy, enthusiastic and motivated.

People were also worried about the wider impact on the town and whether the two proposed receiving primary schools could match the quality and stability of education at the nursery.

The council acknowledged the positive Estyn report and said the closure proposal was driven by a policy change relating to the point at which children began school in Carmarthenshire rather than any concerns about standards.

A report before full council said Ammanford nursery’s full-time education was inconsistent with all other council-maintained settings – although it did change to part-time in January this year – and that pupils had less continuity between nursery and primary phases.

It said Ysgol Gymraeg Rhydaman and Ysgol Bro Banw had also received positive Estyn inspections, offered breakfast clubs and after-school activity, and that the nursery school building would be used by Ysgol Gymraeg Rhydaman for nursery-age education if the nursery was to discontinue.

“By retaining the building as an education facility and ensuring that early years provision continues within the same geographical footprint, the proposal maintains the community’s access to local services and retains the presence of education professionals and families in the area,” the report said.

It added every effort would be made to redeploy affected staff but couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of redundancies.

Cllr Glynog Davies, Plaid Cymru cabinet member for education, said the proposal would ensure every child had the same education provision in Carmarthenshire and that Ammanford Nursery School was the only one of its kind. Council education officers, he said, felt the proposals were beneficial and that pupils would “move smoothly” from the nursery to primary phase.

Labour councillor Kevin Madge said his party backed local parents and would not support the closure recommendation. The nursery school, he added, functioned as an important community hub.

Cllr Madge said Labour also felt Ammanford had been “short-changed” in terms of new schools and that nothing was programmed for delivery in the next five years according to the council’s capital expenditure plans.

He said land acquired by the authority off Pontamman Road five years ago for a potential new YGG Rhydaman “only benefited now the rabbits, the moles and wildflowers”.

Green Party councillor Rob James sought assurances that Ysgol Gymraeg Rhydaman and Ysgol Bro Banw could successfully manage the proposed changes and also asked for an update on the land cited by Cllr Madge.

Cllr Davies said education officers had been discussing the proposals in great detail with both primaries, and that the council’s cross-party education scrutiny committee, which includes Labour members, had previously accepted them.

He said the land off Pontyamman Road was not on the council agenda and no update was given.