THOUSANDS of pounds of National Lottery funding will create up to 80 childcare places in Swindon.
The New Opportunities Fund is granting £1,787,556 to 21 schemes working in the South West and Swindon Borough Council will receive £35,261 to create four new before and after school clubs for 64 children aged three to 12 years.
Poplars Day Care Nursery, at Lower Wanborough, will get £7,371 to create 16 holiday places for children aged four to 12 years.
Nicola Mahon, business and finance officer with Swindon's early years development and childcare partnership, said: "Swindon's award is wonderful news for families living and working in the borough.
"It will enable high quality accessible childcare provision giving vital support to parents and carers in work and training.
"Knowing the real difference this award will make to local people, we look forward to developing further New Opportunities Fund-supported out of school childcare places to meet Swindon's needs."
Brenda Nash, Poplars Day Care Nursery manager, said that the grant would enable the nursery to take on an extra two staff.
She said: "We are absolutely delight-ed.You put in for additional funding but it is not until it is confirmed that you can start to carry out the plans you want to do.
"It means we can take up to 36 children in holiday places, whether they be during mornings, afternoons or a mixture of both, to accommodate parents.
"We have prided ourselves on providing a really good service in the past and this will make the service better in future."
The New Opportunities Fund distributes National Lottery money to health, education and environment projects across the UK.
It supports sustainable projects that will improve the quality of life for people throughout the UK, address the needs of the most disadvantaged people in society and encourage community participation.
A pot of £220m is available to create new childcare places for 865,000 children across the UK by 2003.
A further £100m is available in England to build neighbourhood nurseries which will help deprived areas.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article