Outstanding nursery plans to increase child care provision

Teddy’s Nursery at Garden Villa submits application for the change of use of two separate buildings in village

MORE child care places along with more job opportunities could be available as a village nursery looks to expand.

A planning application has been submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council for the change of use of two separate buildings at Teddy’s Nursery at Garden Villa on the former St Edward’s Hospital site in Cheddleton, Staffordshire.

The proposals involve change of use from residential dwelling to children’s day nursery and change of use from children’s day nursery to residential dwelling

A design and access statement, produced on behalf of the applicant by DBD Architectural Consultancy Ltd of Leek, said: “Teddy’s Garden

Day Nursery is widely regarded as a unique nursery due to its location, facilities and reputation.

“Established in 2004 they aim to provide Cheddleton and the surrounding areas with high quality childcare and since 2007 they have been continuously rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.

“Situated in the picturesque countryside of St Edward’s Park within our large Victorian ‘Villa’ the spacious accommodation has been lovingly restored and adapted to meet the growing needs of children from birth to five years.

“They have around an acre of grounds, much of it used as outdoor play and exploration space for the children in their care.

“A lack of childcare in the Staffordshire Moorlands area was outlined from September of last year by Sarah Atkins, early years sufficiency and development consultant for Stafford and Staffordshire Moorlands.

“The proposal is to swap the use of the two-storey building, currently the owners residential dwelling into the baby unit, and the baby unit would become the residential dwelling.

“The use of the two-storey building for the baby unit will allow for greater numbers to be cared for at the nursery equating to approximately 30 additional children and generating employment for an additional eight to 10 childcare staff for the local area.

“Having the residential unit within the current single storey baby unit will allow for some separation of the dwelling from the nursery, as it is currently in the middle of the cluster of buildings.

“The layout of the buildings will generally remain the same, the habitable rooms (bedroom, lounge, dining, etc) shall become the childcare/nursery rooms. There will be storerooms created, and a baby changing room, and also a staff kitchen.

“The new nursery will now be linked to the main nursery rather than having a house between so the common rooms in the main nursery can be shared such as office facilities, reception.

“The use of the two-storey dwelling as a nursery for the children will provide greater flexibility for childcare.

“The current single-storey building only has two rooms for childcare, whilst the two-storey building will have four rooms.

“The general appearance of the buildings shall remain as existing.

“Windows in the two-storey building once converted to nursery facility shall be replaced with obscure/patterned glass to provide some privacy to the single storey dwelling, which shall be retained for the nursery owner.

“The existing conservatory on the two-storey dwelling shall be demolished following its conversion to the nursery.

“The current access to the dwelling is via a garden gate past the baby unit, having the nursery buildings either side is not ideal.

“The proposal to link the two nursery buildings together using the two-storey building would provide some separation between the use classes. Vehicular access will remain unaffected.” A decision is expected by planners within the next eight weeks.