Opening time signalled for nursery group's £2m pub expansion

The moves bring Kinder Haven’s West Yorkshire portfolio to eight, promising to bring 50 childcare jobs and 160 nursery places to the Bradford area.

The group, run by husband and wife team Danielle and Darren Dixon, favours such sites and currently all of its settings are converted hostelries, offices or churches.

The Fiddlers Three in Clayton and the Prospect Hotel in Eccleshill are the latest, and are to be transformed over the next 12 months, receiving £600,000 each on top of the purchase costs.

Mrs Dixon said, ‘We are very pleased to have made these latest acquisitions in quick succession in areas which are ideal locations for us.

‘It’s great to know that we’ll be providing more high quality childcare in new, purposely designed environments whilst also having created 50 jobs.

'We’ve got quite a busy 12 months ahead.'

The entrepreneur said the company has recently restructured, employing an additional area manager.

'The only way to maintain the quality and high expectations we have for quality outcomes for children, and constant professional developmental and support for our staff, is for us to make sure we have key specialist staff in place,' she added.

She said the Fiddlers is 'very derelict' with rotten joists, and the plan involves demolishing part of the building, and adding two extensions.

The former Fiddlers Three pub (Facebook)

The company has opted for William Saunders architects, to see the 'vision come to life', with easier free flow between the rooms and to the outdoor play area.

She said, 'He’s got us quite well in terms of what we’re expecting and how I want the rooms to flow.

'I did mock up drawings. He used my drawings to create something inspirational.'

City of Bradford Council signaled the green light for the Clayton site planning bid within recent weeks, which is scheduled to open next spring, catering for children from birth to five, five days a week.

An autumn 2017 opening is estimated for the Prospect Hotel site and the planning application has yet to be submitted, but Kinder Haven is hopeful of a relatively straight-forward process which will enable the development.

Giving a sneak preview, Mrs Dixon said, 'It’s got an amazing outdoor area. There’s going to be so much room for the children to play and explore outside.'

At present, Kinder Haven has four settings in Bradford, one in Pudsey, and a sixth in Horsforth, with several boasting 'outstanding' Ofsted ratings.

The company has gone from strength-to-strength after making its first purchase in 2001 - a social club in Bradford’s Sticker Lane.

It was achieved with the help of a bank loan, after the pair put together a viable business plan and sold their home and car.

The couple, who then had two small children and now have three, lived in one room on the first floor for over 12 months, while holding down full-time jobs elsewhere during the days, and converting the ground floor into their first nursery in the evenings.

The company has just agreed to provide wraparound care from the same site from this coming September, for children aged four to 11 attending Lower Fields Primary, located opposite the Sticker Lane site.

    Danielle Dixon (right) at a ministerial reception last year

The company, which now employs 130 staff and looks after 700 children, has previously featured in Nursery World as an example of the kinds of ventures that could be encouraged by a cut in planning red tape.

In 2014 the Government introduced new permitted development rights under the Town and Country Planning Act, which were expected to make it easier for nurseries to expand into empty buildings such as pubs and offices.

Some conversions still require full planning permission, depending on the nature of the proposals.

Ms Dixon has previously said, ‘It should not be a case of saying, “Here’s a building – let’s try to put as many children in it as possible”. It has to be something suitable. This change shouldn’t be abused.’

She said pubs are particularly good buildings for nurseries due to their generous ground floor area, helping to meet fire safety regulations, as well as outdoor space and car parking. They are also commonly set in residential areas, making them easier for parents to access.

And according to 2013 numbers from the Campaign for Real Ale, around 26 pubs were closing each week this year, with around 10,000 calling last orders in the past decade.

Simon Mydlowski, of property law firm Gordons which advised them on the expansion, said: ‘Danielle and Darren have enjoyed a great degree of success due to their single-minded focus on ensuring Kinder Haven is an outstanding day nursery brand.

‘We’re proud to be trusted to help them implement their continued expansion plans and look forward to seeing these two new sites be as successful as the others.’ 

Plans to extend two existing settings are also well underway, with planning permission granted on the Halifax Road site, which is Grade II listed, to provide 32 extra places for three- to five- year-olds ahead of the free-entitlement expansion.

'Our clients want to take the 30 hours,' said Mrs Dixon, adding that without the added provision they would be left 16 places short, with the existing 85 places, from September 2017.

She explained that Bradford council have been 'very supportive' and even contributed £10,000 towards the original conversion of the King's Head pub, along with furniture and equipment. 

In addition, the company has put in an application to extend its Horsforth setting, to provide an extra 44 places for children currently aged two, who would access the 30 hours from next September.

Describing the Government's changes to the planning system, Mrs Dixon was not overly-enthusiastic about the benefits.

She said that many extensions will encroach on car parking space, and the system is not sufficiently flexible.

She said, 'They’re still quite heavy on stipulations with parking and accessibility in terms of transport. They generalise and don’t take into account the availability of trains and buses so much.

'Most settings will need to diversify or extend, which will impact on parking and which will be a barrier for a lot of settings.'