Parent council questions new nursery sustainability

The two-storey nursery building will be built west of Law Primary School and will replace the town’s current nursery on Law Road.

However, Law Primary School’s parent council has raised concerns about the “lack of thinking around how families will travel to the nursery in a more sustainable and healthy way”.

Construction is due to start next month, with the facility due to be completed by next year.

The new building will feature a play area and garden to the north of the nursery, prompting criticism by parents of the building’s energy sustainability.

Kate Allen, chairperson of Law Primary School Parent Council, said: “Our main frustrations have been the lack of thinking around how families will travel to the nursery in a more sustainable and healthy way, and how the nursery should be built to be as climate friendly as possible.”

The parent council originally objected to the plans for the facility in May 2021, citing two key points around creating better paths for travel and a reorientation of the building to utilise more natural light.

New plans from East Lothian Council (ELC) were released in December, with parents claiming that “very few changes to the original plans from May” had been made.

The site of the new planned new early years centre at Law Primary School, North Berwick

Kate added: “We wrote to ELC in December asking for them to explain why this was and they never replied.

“Then the plans were passed in January 2022 without any further discussions.”

Although a travel plan was not submitted in the nursery build’s original application, the council did meet with the parent council in May last year to discuss its concerns, and then submitted a comprehensive travel plan, which included many of the parents’ suggestions for future paths.

The council has not, however, responded to parent council questions regarding the reorientation of the building.

Kate said: “The latest report is completely unsatisfactory in terms of an explanation.

“There may be a good reason but we are yet to hear one.

“It was our belief that the buildings department would have to work with East Lothian Council’s Climate Change Strategy to ensure new building work should be as climate friendly as possible.

“This is the question we believe needs asking of the council – are they using their Climate Change Strategy when they brief architects? If not, why not?”

She added: “The delay to the build is so frustrating for staff and parents and we have only objected because we feel that these issues are so important – we want to get it right for future generations.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “The project team has engaged with and responded comprehensively to the queries raised throughout this project both in discussions with Parent Council and Planning Department. This includes extensive information provided on the building’s energy and sustainability, which led to planning permission being granted.

"We have committed to providing a low carbon and sustainable nursery building in a 3-18 learning campus that supports the local community and provides a healthy and resilient natural environment for the future. This is in line with our Climate Change Strategy.

“The development will offer learners, staff and the community all the benefits of moving from an older, much less energy-efficient building to a new, more sustainable, high-quality, purpose-built facility with multiple access routes to encourage sustainable travel.

“The nursery building’s orientation within that campus of north/ south is also very important. The main building access is orientated to the south from Old Haddington Road to allow ease of access for those with additional support needs, as well as addressing the close relationship to the main primary school building, of which the nursery is a part.

“Energy efficiency has been considered carefully throughout the building’s design and specification and we aim to combine this with sustainable building practices and reduce emissions where possible throughout the construction.”

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

The contract value of the nursery is £3.42 million, 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 completed next autumn, will house new home economics, modern languages and social studies classrooms for the high school.