New plans could make it easier to buy nursery premises

The proposals seek to change a law that restricts what building types can be used to provide childcare. Currently, nurseries are limited to buildings categorised as 'non residential, assembly and leisure'. But the change could see nurseries springing up in disused offices, hotels, hospitals and prisons without owners having to apply for planning permission.

Under current regulations, providers wishing to operate from a building with a 'use class' outside of what is permitted for nurseries can apply for a 'change of use permission'. National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) policy director Claire Schofield said this process has caused problems for nurseries.

NDNA has raised the issue with the Department for Education for the past three years, after members reported spending months on costly applications. 'People sometimes get professional advice to get them through the planning process, which can become expensive,' said Ms Schofield.

Ms Schofield said the expense of converting or adjusting used premises adds up in terms of cost. She recalls one case where a nursery tried to move children from one nursery site to a nearby, refurbished city-centre location. 'The planning process was a real block to the seamless transition of keeping spaces available for children and jobs open for staff,' she said. 'The nursery had to pay the builders overtime to work in a real rush job, which knocked on to their costs.'

She explained that the Government's proposals should make this process easier for nurseries. She also believes regulations for childcare providers to be registered with Ofsted, deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and be inspected by Ofsted will ensure refurbished sites are suitable for early years provision.

'Somebody who is taking on the responsibility as a registered person, and putting their money into setting up a nursery, will need to completely understand the EYFS and the regulations that they have to meet before they make that kind of investment,' she said. 'Presumably, other investors would also want to be confident that a provider is meeting requirements.'

Owner of Mama Bear's Day Nursery Tony Driffield is more cautious about the plans. He has recent experience of planning restrictions, having spent six months applying for a change of use order to purchase an auction house in Bristol. But despite the lengthy process, Mr Driffield said planning regulations protect the market and children.

'You're going to get people who think there is money to be made in this market converting units into nurseries that just aren't suitable,' he said. 'That's going to put pressure on our pricing and our margin, and might remove some of the margin we've got that allows us to invest in maintaining high standards.'

Mr Driffield said the Bristol purchase was 'very difficult', and is still ongoing. 'It's cost us tens of thousands of pounds in consultants' fees, additional work such as moving trees, and other agricultural measures. But that forces us to be very certain this is what we want to do and not make choices on a whim,' he said.

Andrew Howarth, director of Paintpots Nursery in Manchester, believes that changing the regulations would not necessarily increase the number of sites suitable for childcare.

Paintpots has run a nursery from the ground floor of an eight-storey office block in the city for 17 years. Mr Howarth said he has been trying to expand the business or relocate to meet rising demand for places, but his search for premises has proved fruitless for 18 months.

He said developers in his area are reluctant to sell units within offices, and suggested they are waiting for the economy to pick up so they can sell the buildings to be demolished and rebuilt.

He added that office landlords offer rental space at unaffordable prices of about £30 per square foot, and that it is pointless investing in refurbishments for a nursery that may be bulldozed in the future if the landlord fails to lease out other floors in the block.

Mr Howarth also thinks the success of a nursery in a refurbished building would depend on the local competition. 'Compared to purpose-built nurseries, you have a lot of work to do to convince parents this is a clean, warm, secure environment,' he said. 'They come in and see a tired, old office building. It's fine if you haven't got competition. We operate in the city centre and are busy. However, if I had the opportunity to relocate, I would.'

He suggested that rather than changing the terms of use of properties, the Government should encourage local authorities, developers and landlords to work with childcare providers to extend provision.

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesperson told Nursery World that as the plans stood, nurseries would not need to apply for planning permission in the future if seeking to provide childcare from the types of premises outlined in the consultation. However, planning application processes would still apply if a nursery wanted to rebuild the facility or make any significant structural changes.

Restrictions may also apply in areas subject to particular development restrictions, such as properties in a conservation area. He said details were yet to be finalised before the plans come into force in April 2014.

CASE STUDY: MANCHESTER

Jill Mackey recently bought offices owned by Greater Manchester Police to house a nursery from March 2014. The purchase required a change of use application. Consultancy Mosaic Town Planning helped her with the process. Senior planning consultant Daniel Whitney explains what it involved.

'We had to compile and submit a planning application for the change of use of the offices to a nursery. The submission included a Planning Statement, Employment Land Assessment (as the site is within a designated employment area and the building used for offices), Transport Statement and architect's plans.

'The council took eight weeks to approve the application. The main difficulty was providing marketing evidence to show no demand of the building for use for a period of one year.

'Another issue was highways impact and parking. We had to show that there would be no impact on highways safety and parking provision. In this case, there was sufficient parking available to cater for the nursery.'

THE PROPOSALS EXPLAINED

The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) puts uses of land and buildings into various categories known as 'use classes'. Day nurseries are currently categorised as non-residential institutions, along with health centres, schools, art galleries, museums, libraries and church halls among others.

If a nursery currently wants to occupy a building with a different use class, it must apply for a change of use permission.

Under the proposals, a nursery could be set up in selected buildings with other use classes without applying for planning permission. These are: businesses such as offices, hotels, residential institutions such as care homes and hospitals, secure residential institutions such as prisons and young offender institutions, and assembly and leisure facilities such as cinemas and ice rinks.

The consultation also suggests that nursery providers in rural areas could occupy agricultural buildings of up to 500 metres squared.

In May this year, the Government introduced similar measures to allow more premises to become state-funded schools. The current proposals would extend those changes to include nurseries.

A current consultation on the proposals, 'Greater flexibilities for change of use', closes on 15 October. The Government expects the changes will come in to force in April 2014.