New nursery to be built at Hartlepool primary school after planning application gets go-ahead

Proposals were submitted earlier this year to Hartlepool Borough Council for a new nursery school for two and three-year-olds to be built at Jesmond Gardens Primary School.

The application was submitted by Stranton Academy Trust, of which the Jesmond Gardens school is part .

Proposals have now been given the go-ahead by the council planning department which said the move ‘meets an identified need for early years provision’.

A statement submitted on behalf of Neil Nottingham at the trust said the addition of a nursery at the school is needed for the area.

It said: “The proposed nursery will accomodate facilities for two and three year old children that is very much lacking within the community at present.

“There is always high demand for places in the Jesmond area.

“The trust continually have parents asking for places in Jesmond Gardens but have to refuse these as they currently do not offer two-year-old or additional three-year-old places.

“Parents therefore have to travel further afield to access their free entitlement.

“The majority of parents in Hartlepool do prefer their children to access their nursery care in a school setting and once schools do offer this, they do become full very quickly and schools manage to maintain this term on term.”

The building will be at the former drop off and collection point no longer in use on the eastern boundary of the site, to the south of the main car park access.

The one storey nursery building is designed to reflect the original school building and will include two classrooms and enclosed outdoor play areas.

The proposals include 16 parking spaces for use by members of staff and visitors including four disability spaces.

A public consultation was held for the plans over the summer which the applicant said received a ‘positive response’ from students, staff and local residents.

Two objections were received raising concerns on existing parking pressures which could they claimed could worsen.

However council traffic and transport bosses said it is not considered that the increase in parking will have a severe impact on the surrounding residential streets.

A report from senior planning officer Laura Chambers said the plans were approved due to the demand for such facilities.

It said: “The application seeks to expand the facilities provided at an existing school to meet an identified need for early years provision.

“The design of the proposed building is of a high quality, commensurate with the design of the original building and the justification for the location is considered on balance to outweigh any potential impact on the street scene.”

There are currently only two private daycare settings and one childminder in the Jesmond area offering funded childcare places, according to a planning report.

The Department of Education has stated that they will need up to 600 two-year-old places in Hartlepool for Spring Term 2018 and they currently have in excess of 500 children accessing a place.

Nic Marko , Local Democracy Reporting Service