The closures followed the collapse of the company running the nurseries, Excellence in Crewe Ltd, which went into administration in October.
While Cheshire East council initially took control of the nurseries, it decided after discussions with the administrators in December that from 2011 it would provide only the free entitlement for around 170 children, leaving around 130 without any childcare provision.
Parents have complained they were given no notice that the nurseries would be closing down and that it was left to the staff - who had also just found out that they were to lose their jobs - to break the news.
Chris Bratherton, a teacher whose two-year-old son attended the setting at Monks Coppenhall, said, 'I found out on 23 December that the nursery was to close at Christmas. We couldn't do anything at that stage, so it really put a dampener on Christmas. We didn't even get three or four weeks' notice to find somewhere else.
'We have heard rumours that the council made the decision to close the nurseries weeks before we were notified but kept it quiet. Just after Christmas the council promised they would send me a list of alternative childcare in the area, and I'm still waiting for the list'.
Councillor Hilda Gaddum, cabinet member with responsibility for children and families, said, 'Had it not been for the council's early intervention, the company would have ceased to operate in October. We are doing all we reasonably can to minimise any disruption to services. However, it is inevitable that there will be some inconvenience and, in some cases, serious difficulty for families.
'We understand and appreciate the distress and disruption caused by the failure of the nursery provider, and the impact that the late notification has had on those parents who need to secure alternative provision.
'Unfortunately, the timetable of events has been set entirely by the company's administrators and has been out of the council's control.
'We are proceeding with the procurement process as quickly as possible in order to appoint a nursery provider to take over and provide the full range of services for children from birth to five. We hope that the successful provider will be operational by Easter 2011.'
A spokesperson for PKF, the administrators for Excellence in Crewe, was unavailable for comment before our print deadline.
