Hospital Nursery Given Go-Ahead

4 November 2004

A nursery for the young children of staff at West Suffolk Hospital will be open by Christmas 2005 after plans were given go-ahead today (Nov 4) by St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

Hospital staff are delighted at the decision which comes after months of negotiations with council planning officers.

In May 2004 the Trust was stunned when councillors turned down its application to build the nursery, against the advice from the council's planning officer. The councillors cited pressures on car parking and the positioning of the drop off area. They were also concerned about the aesthetics of the building itself.

But the Trust has reassured councillors that although four parking spaces would be lost, a further eight spaces would be created. The Trust has re-orientated the drop-off point on the plans and changed the type of windows and roofing material it will use. The council¹s planning committee approved the Trust's planning application at its meeting this morning.

Work on the 96-place nursery in Macmillan Way is now expected to start in the next two months and the Trust hopes the nursery will be open for Christmas next year.

The nursery will provide for babies and infants aged up to five in term time. There will also be a holiday play scheme for children up to 14 during the school holidays. The 96 places will be offered first to members of the hospital staff with any vacancies being made available to other NHS workers in the area.

Jan Bloomfield, the Trust's Director of Personnel and Communications, said: "This is fantastic news for our staff. We can finally progress with building the new nursery.

"The whole emphasis is on making it easier for people to work in the NHS and child care provision is seen as a key element to attract and keep members of staff."

Director of Facilities Steve Moore added: "We have been working very closely with St Edmundsbury Borough Council over the passed few months to ensure we have answered all the concerns the planning committee had raised when our last application was turned down."