Working parents in a rural village are looking forward to extended childcare cover.

Lenham has a popular and successful nursery that has been running for more than 30 years - but it is contained within Lenham Primary School and only operates during term times - 38 weeks of the year.

The need for a new nursery that could provide wrap-around care throughout the year was one of the key ambitions in Lenham’s Neighbourhood Plan, which was approved in a referendum in May 2021 by 92% of the village.

Lenham Parish Council has identified a site for the nursery, on land it owns adjacent next to the village allotments off Ham Lane.

There is already an old building there and a minibus garage. Both were previously used as a training centre for the St John Ambulance charity, but St John quit the building five years ago.

Now Lenham has submitted a planning application to the borough council to demolish the existing buildings and construct a new two-class nursery complete with an outside covered learning area, a play area and even a children’s allotment. The scheme shows parking for seven cars and a disabled vehicle.

The site is to the rear of homes in Ham Lane, Honywood Road and Robins Avenue.

The proposed access would stay as it is, and be shared with allotment holders.

The new nursery could offer 52 spaces. The building will also provide office space, a kitchen, a medical room and staff room.

John Britt is the chairman of Lenham Parish Council. He said: “The parish has £450,000 that we gained by selling a strip of land to a developer, enabling them to construct 136 homes in the village.

“We will put that money towards the nursery and we have asked Maidstone Borough Council to match-fund it with money gained from Community Infrastructure Levies (CIL) from developers.

“That should be enough to build the nursery, given that we already own the land, but it will be up to the nursery themselves to raise the money to fit out the building.”

Once the nursery is built and the nursery school transferred, it will have the additional benefit of freeing up two classrooms at the primary school, which is nearby on the other side of Ham Lane.

Lenham is in line to take another 1,400 homes over the next 10 years and is expecting to face increased demand for both nursery and school places.

Cllr Britt said: “One of the advantages of having a long-term plan is that at least we can start preparing for the future.”

Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal.

Details of the nursery application can be found on the borough council’s website under reference number: 25/500756