St Helens: Nursery site plans to be decided on by council committee
An application proposing the change of use from first floor residential to day nursery use – at the Daydreams Nursery site, on Prescot Road – will come before the council’s planning committee on Tuesday.
The plans also include external landscaping and alterations to parking arrangements.
The application is being recommended for approval, subject to conditions.
According to a report to the committee, the application relates to an existing children’s nursery, located on the corner of Prescot Road and Grosvenor Road, St Helens.
It states the ground floor of the property has been operating as a children’s nursery since circa 1997 – and the first floor of the building is a residential flat.
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“This application proposes to change the use of the first floor to a children’s nursery to accommodate 76 children in total when combined with the existing ground floor nursery use,” says the report.
“The first floor would be converted into extra nursery accommodation facilities along with children’s toilets, kitchen and sensory room. The second floor would be retained for storage.
“The business currently employs nine staff. As a result of the proposal, the total number of staff would increase from nine to 15; however, only 13 staff would be in the building at any one time.”
This application was publicised by way of a site notice and letters to neighbouring properties.
In total, 11 letters of representation were received in response – all in objection to the application.
The representations, as summarised in the report, include that the proposal would “exacerbate existing parking issues” along Grosvenor Road, the proposal would “exacerbate existing traffic issues” along Grosvenor Road and Prescot Road, highway safety concerns, there is already a “sufficient availability” of nursery spaces in the local area, and the first floor should remain in residential use to “help address housing issues” in the borough.
But in the report, it says the principle of the development is considered “acceptable”.
“The increase in the number of children as a result of the change of use of the whole building would not result in a significant or harmful impact on amenity in the area,” it adds.
“Planning permission was previously granted in 2019 to allow the nursery to accommodate up to 60 children, albeit it is acknowledged this permission has now lapsed.
“The accommodation of up to 76 children would not cause a severe impact to the highway network with the proposed access/egress and parking arrangements considered sufficient to accommodate the number of children and staff requirements and the proposal would not result in a detrimental impact on highway safety.”
