Crumbling nursery school in Longton to be rebuilt amid concerns about its use on evenings and weekends

Plans to build a replacement for the dilapidated Ladybird Lodge in Longton have got the nod, even though there were official worries over its possible impact on neighbours.

In addition to nursery sessions the proposed development in School Lane is also intended as a community building for clubs and classes until 9pm every day.

A move by environmental health experts to have the opening hours restricted to 6:30pm at the latest fell on deaf ears when the application went before planning chiefs. And the worries of a small number of locals over what the building could be used for outside nursery hours were also overruled.

One told planning officers: "Does the word 'community' mean there will be other uses for the building in the evening and weekends?" Another said they were concerned about who the building would be hired out to, with another adding that the "previous play group only opened five days a week and closed at 5pm - not 9pm."

The application by Mrs Michelle Melling to demolish the crumbling nursery and replace it with a new single storey building included a request for opening hours of 8am to 9pm seven days a week with "mixed use" over evenings and weekends.

While some residents welcomed the return of the former nursery as "a fantastic addition to the village," South Ribble Council’s environmental health department voiced caution over the 9pm closing time due to the "very close proximity to residential dwellings which could be adversely affected by internal/external activities."

Instead an officer urged planning bosses to only allow use from 8am-6:30pm Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm on Saturday and no opening at all on Sundays and Bank Holidays. But planning approval has now come with the 8am to 9pm opening hours as requested by the applicant.

The existing timber framed building used to house the 20-place Longton Ladybirds Nursery School, which was first registered in 1992. In 2018 it was rated "outstanding" by Ofsted, but closed down around the time of the Covid pandemic. Since then it has stood empty and is said to have “reached a point where it needs to be demolished for safety reasons and is beyond the point of repair.”