Dennington community playschool construction reaches milestone

A major milestone has been reached during the construction of a new community playschool in Dennington.

A new early years facility, Little Oaks Playschool, is currently under construction in the village, with the roof completed in April.

A topping-out ceremony was attended by trustees from Badingham Playschool and East Suffolk Council.

The new playschool is being built on land owned by Dennington Consolidated Charities – a local charitable trust.

Little Oaks will provide a new purpose-built home for Badingham Playschool, which is currently located at the Westbury Centre in Framlingham.

The current site, which has 11 staff, serves a wide area, with children coming from Framlingham as well as Dennington, Earl Soham, Eye, Bedfield and Laxfield.

In September 2021, East Suffolk Council allocated £6.3 million to support the expansion of schools, leisure and health facilities in the district.

The majority of the construction costs for the project have been funded through East Suffolk Council’s community infrastructure levy (CIL) allocations, totalling £1.45 million.

This funding pot is accrued from a charge that is levied against developers when new housing is built in the district.

It is then distributed by the district authority to help fund improvements to infrastructure, such as play areas, schools and GP surgeries.

Part of this process sees the council hold a list of key projects which are then put forward for the latest round of CIL funding.

Little Oaks is due to open in September.