Bright Horizons' Wimbledon House Nursery and Pre-School is now open for business after more than six months of painstaking renovation. It occupies a sizable listed building in the John Innes conservation area of Merton Park in south London. The surrounding estate was designed in the late 19th and early 20th century as one of London's first garden suburbs, with wide tree-lined avenues, holly hedges, and houses in the style of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Bright Horizons took ownership of the building in 2012 as it had recently been purchased by a legacy company which Bright Horizons acquired in May of that year.
Sadly, the building had fallen into a considerable state of disrepair and posed a major project for the 203-strong chain.
However, the considerable sum invested in transforming the building is expected to bring a healthy return over the next five years. Wimbledon House Nursery is one of the largest childcare providers in the SW19 area and a very visible landmark on a main road leading to local transport links.
Registered for 93 children, aged from birth to five years, there are currently 25 children on roll. Given the increasing number of young families in the area, the management is confident that occupancy will grow.
Independence
Nursery manager Marian Trigg reports that building work progressed smoothly, starting in October 2012 and completing in June 2013, ready for the September launch. Complete interior and exterior decoration was carried out, along with the installation of bay windows for extra light and some reconfiguring of internal space. Great care has been taken to retain the original character of the turn-of-the-century building.
She says, 'Because the building was formerly a school a lot of the layout has remained the same. However, one large wall had to be knocked down to create more rooms, one of which is the children's kitchen, with low-level worktops, sinks and equipment.
'We are particularly proud of this because it will be integral to the nursery as a whole, encouraging children to get involved with the preparation of food and understanding the importance of healthy eating.'
A lot of thought has also gone into developing the spacious outdoor areas at both the back and the front of the house.
'We designed an open-plan garden, allowing free flow and plenty of space for children to run around,' says Ms Trigg. 'We have a vegetable patch and a variety of plants and herbs, and the children will be encouraged to grow and cook their own food.'
Creative arts
An exciting development is the conversion of an outbuilding into a dedicated art studio where children can have messy play and creative activities without a restriction on space. Art is something very much in the minds of the local community, with the Wimbledon College of Art situated nearby.
Deputy manager Shelley Connolly explains, 'We are planning to launch our studio soon. It is currently in use as a gallery, but we want to bring in art activities with pottery, ceramic painting and collages, which all the children can participate in.'
The nursery also offers a dance and drama studio and a state-of-the-art ICT area. 'The ICT suite is very sophisticated with a large LCD screen for the use of pre-schoolers,' says Ms Connolly.
For Ms Trigg, the process of renovating and helping to design the building has been hugely rewarding. 'We have all had the opportunity to meet with the project management team and have input,' she says. 'We have been kept in the loop every step of the way and I really feel I have learnt a lot. It was very satisfying when we held our open day in August and received such positive feedback from the local community.'
She adds, 'It was such a shame that this wonderful building had at one time become almost derelict, but it now has a new future ahead of it as a vibrant local nursery.'