'I was introduced to the management committee of the Cundy Community Centre by a local regeneration project, the Canning Town Partnership,' says Jennifer. 'The centre wanted some kind of childcare facility on site but did not know how to go about it.
'They thought it could be a nursery during the day and then be hired out for evenings and weekends, but I explained that we had to have exclusive use.
'I found out that there was funding locally through Access to Excellence, which is European Single Regeneration Budget 6. This contributed towards the capital building costs and we were able to get neighbourhood nursery funding for both capital and revenue. We also got a loan through the East London Business Centre, which provided me with an adviser to help with the business plan. The centre had given us a loan for Smarty Pants, our first nursery.
'We had the official launch in December and the children started to come in at the end of January.
'It has taken us five years to get the nursery up and running. We had the funding in place some time ago, but because the building is council owned we had to prove to them at every stage that we had the money to knock down part of it and rebuild it. Then we had to sort out the lease.
'I have cried a lot, I've felt frustrated and I've felt like giving up.
It's even harder now to set up a nursery because neighbourhood nursery money has ended and getting SRB funding depends on where you are because a lot of these programmes are coming to an end.
'But I have always worked closely with the community centre and we have both viewed this as a partnership.
'It's about long-term sustainability for both of us and a quality childcare facility for parents.The rental income goes to support the community centre. Nursery providers should look at how they can support community-based groups so that they can both benefit in the long run.
'Land, especially in London, is very expensive and most of it becomes homes or offices. So it is a case of looking at how you can build a partnership with another existing entity.'
