Net-Zero Nursery funded by Section 106

The Paper Lane Nursery at Paulton in Somerset is a 60-place early years facility for under-fives and is part of a wider and ongoing redevelopment of former commercial land, which has brought new homes to the area. TG Escapes was involved from the early stages of the project following a recommendation to the developer from a previous TG Escapes customer.

TG Escapes’ experienced in-house team undertook the design and specification of the building in collaboration with the developer Kenninghall, and the architects DKA, working on the wider redevelopment. Net-zero in operation, the project was funded under Section 106. The nursery is designed to have the smallest possible environmental footprint. In addition to the extensive use of timber, the building maximises energy efficiency featuring an air-source heat pump to provide heating and a rooftop solar PV array to generate electricity.

Using modern methods of construction in the form of modular offsite manufactured elements meant that the time required on site was minimised and delays avoided. Despite the construction taking place between February and April 2024 – three months marked by persistent rainfall – progress was not impacted by the weather. With groundworks completed, the superstructure was weathertight in under 3 weeks with the building finished in just 12 weeks – exactly in line with the program set out during planning.

Paper Lane is a brand-new nursery operated by principal Victoria Westwell. She reports that TG Escapes stood out due to clear communication from early on and the benefits she is seeing most are that the building is easy to use, economical and comfortable with an excellent layout.