A former office building will be transformed into a nursery for up to 80 children.

Guildford Borough Council has approved a conversion of the site on Jenner Road into a new day care centre – complete with renovations to make it fit for childcare.

Castle Daycare & Preschool, which is behind the scheme, operates nurseries in Godalming, Markenfield, Shamley Green and South Hill.

Planning documents on behalf of the applicant claim that a majority of the families using the nursery are expected to be local and would be encouraged to use public transport or walk to mitigate any potential traffic impacts.

Alterations to the property would include the installation of acoustic fencing, a retractable canopy, and a metal guard rail and gate.

Castle Daycare & Preschool has operated day care facilities in and around Guildford since 1995 and cares for children and infants aged 3 months to 5 years.

The applicant’s planning documents say: “A level access approach has been maintained and the internal building is fully accessible.

“The proposed change of use requires minimal changes to the existing building, providing a sustainable approach.”

Planning officers noted in their report that the new nursery would create job opportunities in the area, with 25 staff working in the building.

The nursery would have a capacity of around 80 children, with the outdoor space limited to 20 children at a time.

Its main opening hours would be between 8am and 6pm, with a half-hour breakfast club running from 7.30am and an evening club ending at 6.30pm.

Between Christmas and New Year, the nursery would be fully closed, as would be the case on bank holidays and weekends.

While the planning application was approved, the proposed nursery still faced five public objections – largely focused on traffic safety, noise and loss of light.

One resident wrote: “Children will be dropped off, mostly by car, having to stop right outside the proposed address.

“I would consider this to be a hazard for young children and the assistants they will need to exit their vehicles. The same would apply when children are being picked up.”

However, planning officers wrote that traffic controls around the Jenner Road box junction mean the flow of cars is often relatively slow.

“The movements associated with a nursery would be focused around the beginning and the end of the day when traffic is slower/queuing at key junctions,” officers wrote.”

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