A new pavilion housing a children’s playgroup has been completed in Hollingbury Park in Ditchling Road, Brighton.
The £650,000 building replaces a run-down and badly lit sports pavilion which was built in the 1920s and had unsafe rotten decking.
When the original pavilion was built it was expected to last for 20 years, according to Brighton and Hove City Council.
The new pavilion has been designed as a modern version of the original but with more natural light and a covered outdoor terrace.
Funding for the project came from the Sure Start Early Years Capital Grant as it is used by a playgroup with up to 40 two to four-year-olds.
The playgroup previously ahred the pavilion with a table tennis club but the club now uses the men’s bowls pavilion in Preston Park.
Councillor Vanessa Brown, the council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “We know that the first years of a child’s life are crucial for their future development.
“Research shows high-quality early learning and care is important because children who attend higher quality pre-school provision tend to do better throughout primary school, particularly in reading.
“We have had great success in the city in improving the outcomes of young children and in narrowing the gap for the lowest achieving children.
“This modern and very light new building will help to ensure that the children who attend the playgroup here will have the best possible start in life.”
Can you offer any help. I am the deputy supervisor at a playgroup in Banbury, our tempory building is being condemned in a couple of years and we have absoloutly no money in the pot. We are an independent playgroup and we don’t realy know where to start, we don’t even have enough money to pay an architect for designs! Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved.