Community 'hub' comes to Pimlico

The £4.6million project, funded by Westminster Council, NHS Westminster and the Governenment's Department for Children, Schools, and Families, will enable a range of new services to be delivered from this site.

The facilities to be provided include a nursery offering full day care for children up to the age of five with a number of affordable places, a children's health centre, better quality outdoor space, a baby clinic and a variety of drop-in services for children families.

The building will also provide a new base for school nurses, health visitors, social workers and education welfare officers operating in the local area to help them work together to identify children who are in need of support at the earliest opportunity.

Families in Pimlico's Tachbrook, Churchill, Warwick and Vincent Square wards will also be able to access ante-natal classes and nutrition classes, a crèche and advice sessions on housing, debt, benefits and employment.

Cllr Mark Page, Westminster Council's cabinet member for children and young people, said: "We want to help families improve their circumstances and to ensure that parents have the advice and support to give their children the best start in life.

"This new hub will be a huge boost to people living in this part of the city as more and better services will be on offer from helping them to find a job to accessing childcare."

June O'Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), said: "At LEYF, we have continued to enjoy building a better future for London's children since 1903.

"With our roots very much in and around Pimlico, we have been equally proud of our key role in the local community as nursery provider at Bessborough over the past four years.

"Now, thanks to this exciting new project, we hope to enjoy many more."

The nursery will be closed from October 30.

During the work, the clinic will be temporarily relocated to the South Westminster Centre, in Vincent Square, while all 40 children at the nursery will move to a facility in Page Street.