08 October 2019

Provost of Aberdeenshire officially opens £1.9million Bervie Nursery extension

Provost of Aberdeenshire Cllr Bill Howatson officially opened a £1.9 million extension to Bervie Nursery today (Tuesday, October 8).

Following the completion of the work carried out by Bancon Construction Ltd, Bervie Nursery now boasts a new nursery building, a new classroom, and a bigger dining room, which will now see more pupils being able to enjoy delicious and healthy school meals.

Provost Howatson said: “It has been a privilege to officially open this extension in my ward, which is yet another upgrade to our school estate. We want to give children the best possible start in life and facilities such as this assists the council in achieving this aim. Generations of children will learn, play, make friends and share meals in these excellent new facilities.

“I would like to thank all the council services involved as well as Bancon Construction Ltd for working together to complete this magnificent state-of-the-art extension. The council takes great pride in investing and upgrading its schools so that they can be enjoyed not just by the pupils, staff and parents but, in many cases, the community as well.”

Aberdeenshire Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee chair Cllr Gillian Owen added: “With the expansion of provision of nursery places at the forefront of the national political and news agenda currently, the official opening of the extension to Bervie Nursery could not be better timed. Learning and play are so important for children’s development as our Play Strategy demonstrates so these new facilities will play such an important part in our children growing in the years ahead.

“One of the most pleasing aspects of my role as committee chair is witnessing the investment that has gone into our school estate to transform it into a modern environment where children and teachers alike can thrive.”

The council recently announced that schools and early learning settings such as nurseries have seen an investment of £2.4million following the completion of 15 capital projects over the summer.

A further £1.7million will be set aside for the expansion of early learning and childcare to support the roll-out of extended funded early learning and childcare hours. This is supported by the Scottish Government.