Somerset farm opens nursery using agriculture grant

Farmer Katherine Farthing is opening a nursery at Brue Farm in Lovington, after receiving a grant of £129,000 from the Rural Development Programme for England.

"This has been made entirely possible because of the funding," said Farthing. "As a farmer it is great to have more than one string to your bow, and there is really a huge need for quality childcare in our community," she added.

The nursery is under construction and will be open in October. It will offer outdoor play opportunities, chances to play with the farm animals and locally-supplied home-cooked food.

Farthing will be employing three or four full-time members of staff in the short-term although she plans to expand the workforce as the setting grows.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, commented: "It's great news to hear that such an innovative nursery is setting up despite the challenging economic conditions and has accessed a funding stream outside of early years to do so.

"Although there are various sources of help aimed at the sector at the moment including Capital Grant Funding, it is important that nurseries look to the assistance that is available from other agencies."