A derelict former pill packing unit in St Albans is being redeveloped as a 66-place day nursery, opening in August.
Seymour House Day Nursery Schools is renovating the unit in Highfield Lane, Tyttenhanger, previously owned by the NHS and used for pharmaceutical packing and assembly for West Herts hospitals.
The Pharmaceutical Packing and Assembly Service (PPAS) ceased in March 2012, and the over one-third acre site has been vacant ever since.
John Player, director at Seymour House, said Highfield Lane Nursery would provide care and education for children from birth to five years of age, and offer a range of learning activities.
After renovation is completed, - which involves clearing out the interior, adding new walls and making the premises more child-friendly - the building will have six classrooms, all with access to the nursery garden.
John said the nursery would also provide job opportunities for the local community, with roles ranging from apprenticeships to management positions.
Claire Hill-Burton, nursery manager at the new centre, said Seymour House offered training and career progression.
John said that the purpose-built facility would provide ‘much needed’ nursery places in St Albans, “helping to ease the over-subscribed nursery place crisis”.
The Herts Advertiser was told: “We did our research and found out there is a deficiency in the number of child care places for the number of children within the area, so we are going to help meet the demand that is already there for places.”
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