The former Horizons Nursery in Sunderland is about to enjoy a brand new lease of life since being acquired in November by husband and wife Christian and Phillippa Balmer. The pair have ambitious plans for the 60-place site, which was due to close at the end of 2009 if new owners had not been found.
The nursery, now called Apple Blossom Childcare, occupies a wing of Sunderland City Hospital and is a listed building. It first came up for sale in 2007, but it was only recently that the Balmers' personal circumstances made it right to go ahead with the purchase.
'In a time of economic recession, we are delighted that we have been able to buck the trend and successfully pursue our plans,' says Mr Balmer. 'There have been quite a lot of ups and downs along the way, not least to do with the legal aspects of the purchase, but we got there in the end.'
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