A NEW ‘early years’ facility in North Berwick, which had been scheduled for construction in May this year at a cost of £3.4m, will now not be completed until 2023 due to the pandemic.

Work on the two-storey nursery building is now anticipated to start early next year, with an 11-month timeframe for the build in place.

The facility will be built west of Law Primary School and will replace the town’s current nursery, behind the community centre on Law Road.

New drawings for the planned structure were filed late last month.

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “New documents were submitted to planning in response to parent council and planning department comments, as part of the planning process.

“The application has not been decided upon yet.”

The original construction date of summer this year was delayed due to Covid-19 and “impacts on the construction industry”, the spokesperson added.

They said: “The new early years centre will provide ample space for learning and play to accommodate a growing population.

“Being adjacent to the primary school will offer better opportunities for activities between children in the two facilities and support the transition to Primary 1.

“Alongside the carefully designed internal spaces, the outside area will include a kitchen garden and large playground.

“We will continue to update the community as the project progresses.”

A spokesperson for Law Primary Parent Council said: “The parent council are frustrated by the delay.

“As a parent group, we can see the benefits the new building will bring to the children of North Berwick.

“We know the nursery staff do a tremendous job, regardless of resources; however, there is no doubt that the new building will be a fantastic asset to the community.

“We have been working with the council during the consultation process to ensure there are well-thought-out paths to allow safe and easy pedestrian access from every part of town and are excited about seeing the final designs.

“Our hope is for a nurturing, playful space for our children in the present, but also a climate-friendly building for the future that will lead the way as school estates across East Lothian develop and expand.”

The new nursery, which will have capacity for 240 children over two sessions, has an open-plan design, with a mezzanine area and separate quiet room.

The contract value of the nursery is £3.42m, with a further £70,000 due to be spent on internal fittings.

North of the site, a three-classroom extension for secondary school pupils is being built on the south-west side of North Berwick High School. This £5.6 million project, due to be complete next autumn, will house new home economics, modern languages and social studies classrooms for the high school.