Whenever you read any of the publications on ‘how to start a business’ they advise strongly against taking on premises before you have to. Unfortunately, for my business it is not an optional extra and it is definitely not possible to work from my spare room – I run a children’s day nursery company and as our smallest setting cares for 20 children and our largest over 120, I don’t think my neighbours would be too happy.

However, the search for premises is a little like a fairy tale; you certainly need to kiss a few frogs before you find a prince. Most residential properties come with a large price tag and will require a lot of conversion work, whilst most commercial premises are of a more industrial nature and not really conducive to providing a ‘home from home’ environment, which is our company strap-line.

One of the main considerations is planning consent; planning officers are convinced that we let screaming hordes of children out to play from 8am to 6pm, causing disruption to anyone within a five mile radius. We have had to come up with some ‘play plans’ to re-assure them that we can take small groups out at a time and that they don’t always scream. Parking is the next drama, as again, there seems to be a misconception that a nursery needs as much parking as a medium sized Tesco store.  Unlike schools, we have parents dropping off and collecting throughout the day and we do not experience the same peaks. Solutions may include providing ‘buggy parks’ to encourage parents to walk to nursery and leave their empty pushchair with us during the day, thus reducing the traffic into the site. 

Nurseries are regulated by OFSTED and we have a minimum space requirement for each child, with the provision of outdoor play also highly desirable, although not absolutely essential. Around our nurseries we have a real variety, some city centre nurseries with smaller outdoor areas, but some more rural settings with their own playground and paddock. Unfortunately, we are often in direct competition with other users; care homes for the elderly are looking for almost the same as us and also pubs and hotels.  However, in the current economic climate, the number of empty pub locations certainly presents some opportunities. Location is very important, as most parents will have a very clear idea of how many miles they are prepared to travel to a nursery and of course, whether it is on their route to or from work.  Work place nurseries can be a great idea, but many parents who do not work in one place prefer to have their childcare nearer home, to give them more flexibility – and a chance for the other parent to do his or her bit too.

So, with all that to think about, I’m off on an empty pub crawl, to kiss a few frogs….I’ll let you know what I find!

Sarah Steel is managing director of T he Old Station Nursery Ltd www.theoldstationnursery.co.uk