BUDEHAVEN Day Nursery is delighted to finally see plans for its new building come together as work began recently.

The nursery has received funding from Cornwall Council Children Schools and Families Department for a new building. This was achieved after months of putting a bid together, and the nursery found out in December 2009 when they had been successful.

Planning permission was granted and the new nursery will be opened in January 2011.

Budehaven Day Nursery has been operating since 1993, when it was set up as part of the community school.

Following the school fire in 1999, the nursery was relocated to an Elliot Hut located within the grounds of the school.

Whilst the Elliot Hut provided accommodation after the fire, it has served its purpose, the building is now 35-years-old and is deteriorating. By relocating into a new building, the nursery will be able to increase in size from 16 children to 24 children each session. Additionally the nursery will be able to fully comply with and exceed all of the best practice recommendations of the EYFS framework.

A site for the new building has been identified adjacent to the current Elliot Hut, which has the support of the community school and the council. As such a new building can be constructed whilst the nursery continues to operate from the Elliot Hut, and, when complete, the new building will be occupied over the Christmas holiday, thus resulting in no closure time for the nursery, minimising any disruption for the families who use it.

In tandem with the building project, the committee and staff of the nursery intend to complement the building with the provision of an outside play and garden area to include opportunities for outside play in inclement weather, the ability to plant and grow flowers and vegetables, and to have a wildlife garden to enable the children to study plants and animals in a natural setting.

The provision of the outside garden is intended the be wholly complementary with and sympathetic to the design and sustainable concept of the new building.

The new building has been designed by and is being built by ARCO2 and ECOFAB based in Bodmin. The building has been designed to offer children and adult users a naturally illuminated stimulating environment. The simple construction and natural palette of materials wed the new facilities to the site. The choice of materials design quality will play their part in the success of the built scheme,

It is recognised that the project provides the opportunity for a local landmark building of exemplar quality on a site at the hub of a community.

See this week's 'Post' for a sketch of the new building.