Harwell pre-school gets £265,000 grant from Oxfordshire County Council for new building (From Herald Series)

Harwell pre-school gets £265,000 grant from Oxfordshire County Council for new building

2:35pm Thursday 11th March 2010

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A THRIVING pre-school has been saved from closure after being given hundreds of thousands of pounds for a new building.

Little Pippins Pre-school at Harwell has received the go-ahead for the eco-friendly £265,000 building.

The pre-school, in Gaveston Road, has met in a temporary building for almost 20 years and would have been forced to close without new premises.

Oxfordshire County Council has awarded the school a £265,000 grant from its £7.8m investment in education for early-years children fund, provided by the Government.

The pre-school’s project manager, Sara Rowley, said: “Our current building was second-hand when we got it and it has come to the end of its life.

“If we did not receive the money, we would have had to have closed within the next two years.”

Mrs Rowley said: “This is the only pre-school in the village and the new building means we will be able to take more children, something which is very important with planned development in the area.

“We often have waiting lists and this will be a real benefit for the community.”

The new building will include features such as solar panels to generate hot water, harvested rainwater to be used in the lavatories, and insulation made from recycled newspapers.

Construction work will begin in April and the building should be ready for the autumn term.

It will increase the pre-school’s capacity from 22 children to 30.

Architect Andrew Heason said: “The current building is on a fruit orchard and we have been careful that the slightly bigger building will only need to remove two or three of the trees.

“This is the most technologically advanced building that could be designed for the budget and incorporates many exciting features.”

Volunteers at the pre-school have also been fundraising for the last seven years, and have raised £22,000, which will be used for any additional costs.

County councillor and Harwell parish councillor Stewart Lilly said: “I’m delighted money has been found and the pre-school will continue to do more good work for the little ones.”

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