Plans submitted to convert Rothwell cadet hall into nursery for more than 50 children
Plans to convert an empty hall in Rothwell into a nursery for babies and children have been submitted for approval.
Documents sent to planning authority North Northants Council by Oak Tree Day Nursery show the nursery would cater for children aged three months to 11 years.
Currently the nursery is located in Cecil Street in the town, with an after school facility in Paddock Lane, Desborough.
The plans state: “We intend to offer flexible sessions which will allow for staggered drop off and collection times for the children minimizing the flow of traffic and the amount of people at the setting at the same time.
“The site is located in the town centre and is next to the market square which provides around 80 parking spaces for the local area.
“This would provide extra parking spaces for both staff and parents and provide enough space for drop off and collections at busier times of the day.”
Oak Tree Day Nursery currently has an ‘extensive’ waiting list and as a result are looking to expand into an additional setting to provide ‘much-needed’ child care for working families.
The nursery will support the government’s scheme for funded childcare for working families. The new space intends to provide some spaces for ‘wrap around’ care for the local school to help support parents to return to work for hours outside of the normal school hours.
Business hours could see the nursery opening between the hours of 7am and 6pm, Monday to Friday 48 weeks a year with planned closure periods.
An outside area would provide staff car parking for five vehicles and a divided section for children's outside play.
Nursery owners say the expanded service would provide up to 10 additional job opportunities – both part time and full time – in qualified and non-qualified positions.
To have your say on the plans for the nursery, go to North Northants Council’s planning portal. Residents have until Friday, January 17, 2025 to comment on the proposals.
Details can be found searching the planning applications using the number NK/2024/0681.
A decision on the planning application is expected to be made on Monday, February 17, 2025.