Eighteenth nursery for South West group

The nursery group currently has 17 settings in Bristol, Somerset and Devon, providing more than 1,000 places.

The building on Whiteladies Road, which was originally a church and more recently the city’s auction rooms, is being converted by the chain to provide an 80-place nursery for children aged three months to five years.

Building work is expected to finish next January when the nursery will open the doors to its first children.

Claire Godfrey, from Mama Bear’s Day Nursery, said, ‘We are so excited to be opening a new nursery on Whiteladies Road. It is in a convenient location for working parents and the building itself is perfect for the kind of home-from-home environment we aim to create.’

‘During the summer while the building is being converted we will be taking registrations for the new nursery. Families will soon be able to take a look inside and see for themselves the layout of the brand new nursery. Recruitment of staff will also begin over the next few months with the aim of opening in January 2014.’

The renovation is part of a plan to boost that part of Whiteladies Road by bringing a disused building back into use. It will create up to 40 new jobs once the nursery is fully occupied.

The open plan interior of the nursery will be divided into separate rooms for babies, toddlers and pre-school children.

An outdoor play area is also being created as well as a drop-off zone for parents This will be the second Mama Bear’s Day Nursery in Clifton, both of which are in 19^th century buildings.

The group is a family-run business set up in 2002 by Bev and Tony Driffield.