Children at Sawtry Day Nursery will soon be able to play in a brand new play area thanks to a £9,000 community grant from the Accent Foundation.

Nene Housing, which is part of the Accent Group, invited its residents living in Huntingdonshire to apply for a grant from the Accent Foundation to help local community projects. Nene resident Kelly Pulford, whose child attends the nursery, heard about the grant and recommended that the nursery apply for funding to assist its plans to improve the play area.

The nursery school has around 60 children registered ranging from six months old to school age and looks after up to 40 children every day. It is using the money to extend its small play area onto redundant land adjacent to the nursery.

The area will provide a secure place for the children to play and will include a new planted garden designed to attract insects and butterflies. A pathway to enable the children to ride bicycles all year round has already been built and seating areas are being provided.

Dawn Quince, nursery director, said: "We are really looking forward to the garden being completed at the end of March, especially as the children will be able to use it in time for the spring. It will make a real difference to them and provide more room to play and also to learn about wildlife and insects in the new planted garden.

"We would not have been able to create the garden without the Accent Foundation grant. It has enabled us to do everything we planned all at once and provide a fantastic new area for everyone to enjoy."

Patricia Hobbs, housing officer at Nene, said: "The Accent Foundation provides great opportunities to provide or improve community facilities. Without it Sawtry Day Nursery would have been unable to provide the excellent facilities which are now nearing completion."

by Kate James