PLANS for a new daycare nursery to be built in the grounds of a Reading rugby club have been approved.
Chalkhouse Childcare Services is a care provider for children in the Reading area, with staff providing activities and meals for youngsters.
Now, staff and children at the original Chalkhouse nursery are gearing up to move into a purpose built facility in the grounds of Reading Abbey Rugby Football Club.
The original Chalkhouse Nursery is currently running from a property called Kerak off Chalkhouse Green Road in Kidmore End, a hamlet just north of Reading.
The new site at the Rugby Club site falls under South Oxfordshire District Council’s jurisdiction, with that council’s planning department approving the application.
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The nursery has 14 members of staff.
A decision notice states: “The proposed development would support the growth of rural business and would not harm the character or appearance of the area or result in any adverse impact upon the highway network.”
The project involves building a single storey nursery with a flat roof, with access being provided from the lane to the rugby club off Peppard Road.
There were concerns that parents and guardians would have to take their children to the nursery by car, with a South Oxfordshire highways and transport officer objecting to the plan on those grounds.
However, South Oxfordshire planning officer Marc Pullen noted that those travelling to the nursery could use the existing bus stop in Peppard Road which is served by the 25 Pink Reading Buses route which runs between Reading and Sonning Common.
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You can view the approved application by typing reference P22/S1511/FUL into South Oxfordshire planning portal.
As well as running its first nursery in Kidmore End, Chalkhouse Childcare Services also runs Chalkhouse@Earley, located at 2 Elm Lane, Lower Earley.
The company took over the location following the closure of the Elm Lane Montessori which closed some time after December 2021.
The Montesorri had a rocky history prior to its closure, with Ofsted inspectors judging that it required improvement and that leadership and person development at the school was ‘Inadequate’.
Prior to that, the Montesorri was rated ‘Inadequate’ overall during an inspection in 2018.
Chalkhouse@Earley registered with Ofsted on January 18 this year.
Since taking over, staff at the nursery have engaged in a ‘transformation’ project which has involved refurnishing and redecorating.
Chalkhouse Childcare and Reading Abbey RFC have been contacted.
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