CAMPAIGN WIN: Bishops Lydeard Parish Council earmark funding to kickstart Bishops Lydeard Church School Nursery building work
Following a campaign led by Rachel Gilmour MP, last night (10th December), the Bishops Lydeard Parish Council voted in favour of allowing £100,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding to be used to begin the redevelopment of Bishops Lydeard Church School Nursery.
Yesterday evening, Bishops Lydeard Parish Council voted in favour of using £100,000 of CIL funding to kickstart the redevelopment of the old schoolhouse building at Bishops Lydeard Church School. This money, which was originally earmarked for the ‘fitting out’ of the nursery once built, now means the building work can begin from as early as February to be ready for the start of the next academic year (September 2026).
The Bath & Wells Multi Academy Trust, which manages Bishops Lydeard Church School, originally agreed to match-fund any external funding up to £150,000 towards the old schoolhouse redevelopment, which is currently projected to cost approximately £370,000. The Trust has since increased their contribution to around £220,000.
Bishops Lydeard Church School has resubmitted an application to Department for Education for Nursery Capital Grant funding, which has been supported by Rachel Gilmour MP. The school is set to be informed of the outcome of their grant application in April and, if successful, this money would become available in June next year.
The fact that the Bishops Lydeard Parish Council has now voted to allow the £100,000 of CIL funding to be spent on building works means that the redevelopment can get under way from as early as February 2026, with or without Department for Education grant funding.
In recent years, Bishops Lydeard Church Primary School have had to turn away children from joining their small nursery, and they currently have a waiting list for places throughout the working week. Unfortunately, the issue with childcare places is also likely to worsen as the village could be set to for further expansion - Cavanna Homes recently released their plans for the building of an additional 130 homes in the west of the village.
Since before election last year, Mrs Gilmour has been campaigning for CIL funding to be used to build a new nursery in the village to support local families, including holding a public meeting outside the school during the summer. Mrs Gilmour said she is “delighted” by the news, highlighting positive impact the new nursery will have on the local community.
Following the vote last night, Rachel Gilmour MP said:
“This is absolutely wonderful news for the local community in and around Bishops Lydeard.
If all goes to plan, following the school’s timeline, children and families will be able to benefit from wrap around care at the new nursery in the old schoolhouse building from next September. I know this is welcome news for local parents in the village, and I am delighted that our campaigning has paid off.
I am grateful to the Bishops Lydeard Parish Council for voting to allow these funds to be used to start the building work, and I now look forward to continuing to support Bishops Lydeard Church School in any way I can to get this project underway.”
Phil Durban of the Bishops Lydeard Residents Action Group said:
“This is the very best Christmas present for children and families in Bishops Lydeard, we will have a new nursery class opening in our village school in September 2026.
It’s taken 18 months of campaigning by our local MP, Rachel Gilmour, together with parents, grandparents and residents to ensure we have a new nursery class in place.
Going forward, with Rachel's support we need to ensure speedier access to Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds to ensure our schools and early years services can fully meet the needs of families when new housing is built.
The Bishops Lydeard Primary School made an application to the Bishops Lydeard Parish Council CIL Fund in March 2024. The delays and prevarication by the Parish Council in coming to a decision about releasing funding has resulted in increased build costs and waiting lists and delays for parents needing to access nursery care for their children.”
