Councillors have visited a brand new nursery in Kidbrooke, built by the Royal Borough of Greenwich as part of a 100% social housing development providing hundreds of council homes for local people.
The nursery was purpose-built to provide high-quality childcare and early years education for up to 81 children aged between three months and four years old.
The building features spacious and well-lit rooms with high ceilings and large windows, creating a calming, safe and accessible space designed for play, exploration and learning.
The nursery also incorporates secure entrances and CCTV monitoring throughout, as well as sustainable heating and air filtering technologies to maintain a healthy environment.
The indoor space is complemented by a secure and large garden which can be accessed directly from several of the nursery rooms. This gives further space for play, exercise and nature-based learning activities.
Cllr Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said:
“This new nursery on the site of our largest new social housing scheme shows that we are not just building homes, we are creating new neighbourhoods and communities with the high quality and sustainable infrastructure they need to flourish and grow for the future.
This new facility is custom-built by us to provide everything young minds need to learn and grow, and is located at the heart of a new council-built 100% social housing development which is among the largest in London if not the country.
Other social housing developments have included retail space and extensive local area improvements, such as a £750,000 investment in parks and open spaces around our new council homes along Rochester Way.
It’s been a joy to see the young children who are getting a great start in their education thanks to this beautiful new facility.”
The council worked with architects HTA Design and contractor Durkan Homes to build Kidbrooke Park Road North, the 122-home housing development of which the nursery is part, with Blakeney Leigh acting as employer’s agent. The nursery service is provided by More2Nurseries.
Kidbrooke Park Road North is the first phase of a 452-home social housing scheme which also includes extensive landscaping, children’s play areas, a retail space and an innovative sustainable energy centre.
The More2Kidbrooke nursery is currently full for two-year-old places, however there is good availability for immediate and future starts for children under two and for three-year-olds.
The main catchment area is Kidbrooke (SE3) and SE9, though the nursery accepts children from across Royal Greenwich.