The Yellow Dot Nursery is a barn conversion and the children go outside to play on decking whenever they like, as the nursery operates a free-flow play policy. Eight months after the nursery in Ampfield opened, neighbours complained to Test Valley Borough Council about the noise when the children go out to play.
The nursery was forced to apply for retrospective planning permission for the decking. The borough's environment officers suggested building a 10ft high fence around the nursery garden.
Councillors felt the fence would be too high and have asked officers and Yellow Dot to come up with a solution. Yellow Dot owner Jane Dyke said, 'At the moment, we are monitoring the noise levels with our neighbour and ascertaining how great the problem is.
'We don't feel that having a 10ft high fence would be very good for the children. So we are looking at perhaps reducing the level of the decking and making the fence a bit higher. We are also looking at ways of operating differently to reduce the noise levels.
'The nursery does look out on to the neighbours' garden, but it is a 90ft garden so the question is how much noise they can actually hear from their house. I am meeting with the neighbours on a regular basis so I can "hear" the problem.'
Ms Dyke's main objection to the fence is that the building was chosen for its countryside location and its views. 'If we put up a 10ft fence, that would enclose the garden space and it just wouldn't be appropriate, as it is four times the height of a child,' she said.
Jacky Brewer, senior early years adviser at Learning Through Landscapes, agreed, saying that being able to see the countryside is important for young children as it 'deepens their imaginative play'. She added that it is vital young children are able to see and investigate the countryside, as it is only then that 'they begin to appreciate and value it'.
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