Diggers move on to site of new nursery near Shrewsbury

Building contractor Pave Aways has started work on the new centre for The Ark Day Nursery in Pontesbury, which will replace its current three-room building on Hall Bank.

The purpose built nursery will include baby and baby sensory rooms, a toddler room and two dedicated rooms for pre-schoolers. It means The Ark will be able to cater for up to 80 children, compared to its existing 50 places.

The build is scheduled to take 24 weeks with the new nursery opening its doors in late July. The existing nursery site will be used for new houses as part of an on-going home building strategy in the village.

The project will also provide a boost to the local economy with Pave Aways committed to using contractors and staff based within a 15-mile radius of the site.

The Ark, which is rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, has been caring for children in Pontesbury for 12 years and offers day care facilities for children aged three months to five years. It also runs breakfast, after school and holiday clubs for youngsters aged up to 11.

Owner and manager Roz Young said this was an exciting milestone for The Ark.

“This build has been a long time in the planning and is in direct response to requests from parents for us to expand.

“The new nursery will have a vastly increased footprint and it has been designed with an additional baby sensory room and pre-school room, therefore allowing us to look after 60 per cent more children that we can at the moment.

“We are very excited for the future and look forward to a seamless move later in the summer when more children will be able to enjoy the benefits of a purpose built centre and our outstanding day care.”

Pave Aways managing director Steven Owen said: “We are delighted to have been commissioned to build the new Ark nursery. Our vast experience in the education sector makes us ideally placed to deliver the vision for a modern, state-of-the-art building that will give an outstanding environment for an outstanding nursery.”