Sod cutting kick-starts East Renfrewshire’s £24m nursery plan

East Renfrewshire Council’s ambitious £24 million development of five new nurseries is now under way after the first sod was cut at the site of the new Crookfur Family Centre.Children from Crookfur Primary Nursery Class joined councillors, council staff and contractors to mark the important milestone for the project.The new-build facilities, three of which will operate as family centres providing childcare for 50 weeks of the year, are planned to be open by August 2020.With the council required to provide increased free childcare for all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds by 2020, the new nurseries will play a significant part in delivering this.As part of the move Crookfur Primary Nursery Class will be relocated to this new facility on the site of the former Crookfur Pavilion.In addition to the Crookfur facility, the new nurseries will be built within Overlee Park, a replacement for Glenwood Family Centre on an adjacent site, and two new centres within the grounds of Busby and Eaglesham primaries.As part of the work to create new nursery facilities the council is also proposing to incorporate improved community and sports facilities within two of the centres.The existing Crookfur and Overlee pavilions are both in need of significant improvements, and will benefit from being included in these new facilities.The other nurseries also being developed as part of the expansion plan, include a new 60 place nursery class extension at Cross Arthurlie Primary, plus improved facilities at Hazeldene Family centre, Carolside Nursery Class and Braidbar Nursery Class.