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Monday 22 Aug 2005

NEW NURSERY OPENS ITS DOORS TO THE RAILWAY CHILDREN

Region & Route:

| Southern

A new children’s nursery at Whitstable station, refurbished using £300,000 of railway industry funding, will open its doors this weekend to parents looking to enrol their children for the coming school term. Network Rail has teamed up with South Eastern Trains, the Railway Heritage Trust and Choochoos Nursery to transform the derelict Victorian building at Whitstable Station into a brand new nursery for local infants. Following months of refurbishment, the nursery is now ready for action and will hold a special open day across the August bank holiday weekend for parents to come and see the facilities on offer. Network Rail Route Director Dave Ward said: “We were delighted to be involved with this project. Not only has this scheme created a valuable new facility for local parents and the whole community, it has also helped restore a historic railway building back to its former glory. I would encourage all local parents to come and see for themselves what a fantastic place Choochoos Nursery would be to send their children in the new school term.” The historic Victorian building was once the old ticket office and waiting rooms at Whitstable Station but has been empty for some 15 years. Work to transform the disused building into a children's day nursery began in June and the extensive repair work carried out included: installing a brand new roof at a cost of £86,000; completely rewiring the building’s electricity; and repairing the original Victorian sash windows. Many of the building’s other original Victorian features have also been restored during the work, and the garden adjoining the building has been put back into use as a children’s play area following extensive clearance work by Network Rail’s lineside team. The nursery is now due to officially open at the start of September in time for the new school term. Once open, the nursery will run from 7am to 7pm and will cater for up to 72 children a day, aged between two and five years. It will also be available for local community clubs and societies to use during the evenings and weekends.