Manchester nursery owner opens third setting

The Train Station Day Nursery in Radcliffe, which is Ms Melia’s third setting, has undergone a complete refurbishment after the former medical centre was left empty for four years and subjected to break-ins and fire damage.  

Features within the new nursery include a sensory theatre, children’s indoor play area and ICT suite. It also has a full biometric system and is fitted with CCTV cameras. 

Owner Carole Melia said, 'It was a spur of the moment decision to buy the building and turn it into a nursery. It is a fantastic building and I knew it would be perfect for what we wanted.

'While I don't really know the area, we have managed to pull together a superb team of staff and the nursery is proving as popular with parents as our other settings.'

She added, 'We are still looking for another setting and plan on opening a fourth nursery this year.'

The Train Station Day Nursery will create more than 40 jobs in the local area as well as offer free early education places for disadvantaged two-year-olds, enabling Bury Council to reach their target of offering 500 funded places by September 2013.

Although the nursery has been open less than a month over 50 children have registered at the nursery. The setting has also been presented with Bury Council’s Golden Apple award that recognises healthy eating practices in early years settings.  

Ms Melia has a long history of running nurseries. She opened her first nursery in Manchester in 1996 and ran several other settings but had sold all the businesses by 2004.

She re-entered the childcare market in 2008 opening a Manchester nursery in a converted fire station as The Old Fire Station Nursery and a year later bought back a nursery she had previously owned in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, and re-named it the Little Red Day Nursery.