'Jacqui went into the business as a mid-career decision to do something different,' says Tony. 'She did a full-time course and part of that involved placements in existing nurseries, where she came to the conclusion that she could do something better.
'The Scarborough nursery building - our third - will have room for 70 children and will be completed in April, so we open from May onwards. We have used Redworth Construction, based in Malton, which has a record of building nurseries and nursing homes throughout the UK.
'We have also done this on the back of finance through the Bank of Scotland, one of the high street banks that specialise in nurseries.
Redworth are on their list of approved construction companies.
'We went through a broker called Premier Commercial Finance. They matched the lender with the contractor. It was a marriage of compatible partners.
'Like most building projects, there have been delays. This is our third choice site. We aimed for two years from buying the site to opening the nursery, but this has taken three years. Originally, we were looking at a site about a quarter of a mile from where we have the new nursery. But we ran into problems because there were no services to the site and a newt problem, which could have led to a two-year delay because they are a protected species.
'Building a nursery from scratch means you can take an empty shell and design it with the child in mind. You have to look at the building from the height of two foot six, from where a child sees the world. We have self-contained rooms for babies, toddlers and pre-school children, a fully-equipped kitchen, dining room and outdoor play area.
'The nursery is located in the business park on the edge of town, where there is a concentration of large employers that are also easy to get to for people coming in from outlying villages.
'We are currently talking to the chairman of the business park association to make his 47 members aware that there is a nursery facility nearby. We are following that up with a direct mailing campaign to people's houses.
'We also have a semi-formal arrangement with the Scarborough Building Society, which has recently relocated near the nursery. They have been seeking childcare that is close to that location and we are in discussions with them.
'If you are planning to build a nursery it's important from the outset to go and see the planning officer to see if your development is likely to be acceptable and make sure all the information they need is delivered to them on day one.'
