Gingernuts said - 16-03-2010 02:14 PM

I would just note that Fairlawn Nursery is purpose built, a back garden in a private dwelling catering for 24 children not all laughing some scream (lovely) can set the nerves on edge when it is constant.

Pipling, do you think a nursery group would be outside screaming all day

Pipling, appologies, have just reread the thread and seen the context in which you quoted GN.

Londondrz -
I just wanted to say - thankyou for your support. There are a few local people who have been quite unpleasant which has not been very nice for me. What a shame that some people don't seem to think that children have as much right to enjoy a peaceful location as they do.

Can I add my support - I live on Westwood Park and take my daughter to a nursery in East Dulwich because of the lack of provision and the waiting lists in Forest Hill.

I think Liphook Crescent is a great location for a nursery and speaking for the nursery in East Dulwich - the children (6 months to 4 years) play outside in the large back garden whenever the weather is good, and they make very little noise.

I wish you the best of luck. There are some posters on this forum who will object to anything... some even complained about the decrepit old swimming pool being closed!

I dont think complaining about the closure of the pools is trivial, as seems to be suggested. There is a legit arguement in keeping the pools open (once closed would they ever be rebuilt?) also keeping the Victorian facade to retain 'the face of Forest Hill' is well supported by the community.

Gingernuts - I have asked for my home address to be removed from this thread. I must ask, did you realise when you started this thread that it was the address of my family home that you were giving out? Ofsted make a point not to publish addresses of childcare on domestic premises to protect the privacy of the family that live there. Would you be happy to just let us all know your exact address too?!
Also, given that you took the time to start this thread in the negative way you did, perhaps you would like to answer my question regarding your point about Fairlawn being purpose built? I am still intrigued as to why you think it is any different!
Do you know anything about all the scaremongering that happened in Liphook Crescent recently? How sad that the neighbours I consulted in such a friendly manner (who claimed not to have any concerns)went on to make objections to the council without discussing anything with us, their neighbours of 11 years.
It came to my attention that some of the more elderly residents of the street had their letters written for them to be signed and one neighbour was actually verbally assaulted and put under pressure to get his letter in! Wouldn't it have been much more civilised and mature to express concerns to me first/aswell?
I am very, very disappointed with the people who have made objections about noise of very young children. I suggest that they move out of their 5 bed family houses and live in a retirement village where they will not be disturbed by our next generation.The houses in this street were made FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN!My house has 7 bedrooms! Just enough room for the 12 children I am planning to have.....I don't need planning permission for that....

Lighten up Liphook Crescent!

I suspect that one of the problems is that whilst the houses up there are indeed family houses, most families probably couldn't afford to live there at present hence the predominance of a slightly older generation whose families have grown up and who are perhaps a little more settled for their own good. Apologies for what might be a generalisation but I think that might be the issue, along with the fact that some people may have forgotten that the sound of young children having a good time might actually be nice!

There a range of issues around living in the vicinity of a nursery and I won't beat about the bush in saying that I would also be asking questions if one moved next to me, but to be honest, you could as easily have other types of businesses in residential areas that could cause problems ie guest houses, and of course the family from hell could well move in , so perhaps a nursery where the most offensive issue is small childrens laughter might be a better bet? Its generally got a low carbon footprint as well even if a few parents drive there. A fairly large house could well be purchased with that sort of business in mind, also some people attempt to convert such properties into flats.

I used to live opposite the playground of Christchurch school on Perry Vale - the estate agent said not everyone liked the prospect but I really enjoyed the sound of children playing as it was nice and cheering, especially on a dull day.

Pipling, I hadnt realised your family lived at this address and thought the property was a previous rental home. I do apologise for any offense. However, I'm curious how you can advertise your business without giving your home address away?

I can see Pipling's disomfort with her home address being made public but it was already in the public domain due to the planning application, which requires the name and address of the applicant.

Good luck in your application - Forest Hill is well short of quality pre-school childcare so if your proposal is workable in Liphook Crescent it would be a welcome addition to many parents. However, dont feel too angry with your neighbours for objecting - it is likely that the formal planning application exposed far more detail of your plans and this raised more questions or concerns for them. They will also have had a deadline to lodge these concerns so there may well have been little time to raise them with you first.

If I were a neighbour of yours I would definitely be concerned about your assertion that parent dropping kids off by car would be 'an exception' - my son attended Rubadubs Nursery near the station so you could argue that it was perfectly placed to for commuters to walk to on their way to catch a train but there was still a significant number of people who drove to the nursery.

Again, good luck, I hope your plans can be made to work for everybody.

My child attends this nursery. When we moved to Forest Hill, I was shocked to find so little quality childcare in the area. So much so that if I'd done my research properly, I most probably wouldn't have moved into the area. Piplings should be applauded for contributing to the local economy, both directly by employing staff etc, and indirectly because no local nurseries = no young working families in the area = aging population, etc, etc.
To those that are worried about the noise level, can I just say please give it a chance? We're not talking about heavy plant machinery moving into your area but the sound of pre-school children playing. You may even find yourself raising a smile at the sound of a toddler playing (I know I do).
On the car note, I can't speak for every parent but I don't own a car and so won't be driving to the nursery. Most parents drop off/pick up as part of their commute to work. A quick straw poll on how many local people drive to work or commute by public transport should give you an idea on the increased car traffic around the nursery.
Finally, a couple of points on location:
In my experience most nurseries are on quiet residential roads. Small children are precious cargo and you wouldn't want them exposed to the noise and pollution of a busy road would you?
Liphook Crescent is in a great location high above the city. I love living in London and hope my daughter will grow up feeling the same way. Wouldn't it be just a little churlish to deny our children the experience of viewing London from such a great vantage point.

Not necessarily, quite a number of those who dropped off by car at Rubadubs didn't drive to work, just to drop off and pick up.

The numbers wouldn't be huge with 30 potential drivers (6 non-resident staff and up to 24 parents) so hopefully it isn't a big issue. However, a neighbour of mine used to run a smallish business unofficially from his house and it did have an impact on our street. The increase in moving traffic wasn't really an issue but there was an increase in noise from visitors which didn't fit the normal residential pattern. The main issue was blocking of people's drives - 10 minutes never seems like a lot for the person who parked over your drive but is a long time if you haven't built it in to you journey plan and you want to get out.

As I say, I'm vaguely supportive of this application in that FH needs more childcare provision but it's not in my back yard so I dont have to think too hard about the consequences. As this forum has highlighted in the past, people naturally react to change so it isn't surprising people have objected. Whether or not those objections have any validity in planning terms is another matter.

Point taken. Do you have any firmish numbers for the proportion of car users to pedestrians/cyclists at Rubadub? Of course it wouldn't provide a definitive answer but could help residents decide what impact the nursery will have on them. At my child's previous nursery I'd put the figure at lower than 1 in 10 parents driving, with maybe only 1 member of staff using a car. But that was in a different part of London, on a road with a resident parking scheme, so I accept that my figures may not be representative of Piplings.

Parking really is not a problem on Liphook Crescent (except during Jerk Chicken Cookouts). The good thing about lots of detached houses with older residents is that they rarely have more than 2 cars and most have garages and drives. This means there is plenty of space for parking for a small number of parents dropping off their children.

I expect that there would be less cars parked and for a shorter period of time than when my extended family go to my parent's house for lunch (watch out this weekend for the parking nightmare of an extra six cars parking in the Crescent!)

When Rubadubs expanded some people complained about the potential increase in noise and parking difficulties, neither of which prevented the approval of the development. So far I am not aware of any more substantial issues with this planning application. Personally I fully support this application and I find it quite selfish when people object to nursery provision in an area that is so short of such facilities.

Gingernuts - I do not need or want to advertise the exact address. When a parent contacts me with a genuine childcare enquiry and wants to arrange a meeting, I then give the address to them - in the same way that a childminder would.
It is better this way as it discourages people approaching me directly before making an appointment and furthermore adds to the safeguarding of the children on the premises.

Unfortunately Ofsted's protection of privacy policy is not understood by the local council who demand a full planning application which displays this information. Fortunately, although my address is in the public domain because of this application (as someone pointed out) most people looking for childcare don't look at the councils latest planning applications as a source of information.

Thanks for your apology, I just assumed you had read the planning application before you posted the link to it!

Anyone got any updates on the planning application for the nursery in liphook crescent?apparantly it's up and running,with 18 children, without any planning permission,or checks whatsoever! tiggywinkle

has anyone any updates on the nursery in liphook crescent,apparantly it's up and running,with 18 children without any permission or checks! tiggywinkle

I thought it was already a nursery anyway,but the planning permission was for an extension?

I don't know what you mean by 'no checks whatsoever, but I think you'll find that Ofsted have plenty of rules and regulations for childcare premises so operating without 'checks' is pretty impossible.

Hi Roz,I have been in touch with ofsted,and rather worringly they have no record of the nursery,niether have the fire safety inspectors,(you know fire retardent doors,sprinkling systems,all that boring stuff!),anyway I do admire how you defend the nursery,but I do think you have to get these things right,bearing in mind the precious little customers! tiggywinkle