1.2m in grants to develop nurseries
Simon Vevers
Wednesday, July 10, 2002
A factory, a former cinema and derelict farmland are among 14 sites designated for new neighbourhood nurseries with grants worth more than 1.2m from the New Opportunities Fund (NOF). Among the recipients is the Highfields Community Nursery and Training Centre in Leicester, which is receiving a grant of nearly 270,000 so that the Red Kite Nursery can create 30 new places for children aged up to four.
Among the recipients is the Highfields Community Nursery and Training Centre in Leicester, which is receiving a grant of nearly 270,000 so that the Red Kite Nursery can create 30 new places for children aged up to four.
The project will entail the renovation of the disused first floor of the Victorian factory where the nursery is housed, providing an additional nine baby places. Red Kite Nursery spokesman Dr Mark Powell said, 'This funding allows us to continue developing our facilities, creating an excellent nursery accessible to the local community.'
An award of 125,000 to Equal Grade Ltd will create a new 54-place Montessori nursery on disused farmland in Stallingborough, Lincolnshire, where the two-year-old Children's House nursery is based. Plans for the nursery include large outdoor play areas and a sensory garden, while the building will also be equipped with training rooms and a drop-in cafe for parents and carers.
Sylvia Archer of the Children's House said, 'A huge amount of work has gone into this project and we are delighted it has resulted in this award.' She added that the new facility would be 'more than a nursery - it promises to be a real community hub'.
There are ambitious renovation plans in Leyton, east London, where the Alert Neigh-bourhood Nursery will be using a grant of more than 170,000 to convert a former cinema into a 70-place daycare nursery for children aged up to five.
With its open-plan design the nursery will incorporate linked indoor and outdoor play areas, while the building will also provide office space for voluntary organisations.
Welcoming the latest round of neighbourhood nurseries, Baroness Catherine Ashton, early years and school standards minister, said they were 'making a real difference to the lives of parents and children, by making high-quality, affordable childcare places available for those who need them most'.
The latest grants also go to other projects in London, the north-east, the north-west, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside.
