In 2005, the lease expired on the Nayland Playgroup Building, which was situated in the grounds of Nayland Primary School. We needed to find a new home for the Playgroup, which has served Nayland for more than 30 years.
Initial thoughts turned to providing a new Portakabin-style building on the existing site, but we couldn’t get the necessary permission to use the same location. We turned our attention to converting the old School House, but it soon became clear that this was not an option either. At that time, Suffolk County Council were keen to provide an Extended Schools Service. One way forward was to work with the County Council to facilitate an Extended Schools Service and benefit from the generous funding opportunities available. There were initial discussions aimed at constructing an Extended Schools Building, which would also house Nayland Playgroup.
Work began on a business plan to raise £240,000 to construct a new building, in another part of the grounds of Nayland Primary School. After 18 months of hard work, the business plan was completed and the capital funding we needed was secured. In addition to many fundraising events and generous donations from businesses, associations and individuals from Nayland and the surrounding communities, sufficient funding was raised to complete the construction of a beautiful, bespoke building, which will serve the community and the children of Nayland, well into the future.
Building work started on 15th February 2008 and the construction phase was completed on 15th August 2008. After almost 3 years, Woodland Corner opened for business on Wednesday 3rd September 2008. It was officially opened on 20th September 2008 by Joseph James, a pupil at Nayland Primary School, who won a competition to name the new building, now known as Woodland Corner.
Now fast forward to 2024 and we have outgrown our building and would love space for 5 more children to take us up to 28 and create a staff/meeting room.
Plans have been drawn up and we are looking for contractors. We would like this work to be completed in the 2025 Summer Holidays.