A NURSERY which has undergone a six-figure transformation after its demolition has swung open its doors to the public.

Pennington Nursery in Ulverston held its official launch party over the weekend to celebrate the opening of the new purpose-built unit after the original building was bulldozed in July.

The nursery, which has been providing care in the Ulverston area since 1993, first gained planning permission to knock down the building in Cross-a-Moor two years ago.

However, construction work only began earlier this summer to replace the 'dilapidated' nursery with a new, modern building.

Owen Collar, who has served as trustee of the nursery for three years, described the demolition as a 'long-time coming'.

He said: "It's definitely been a long time in the making - it's quite exciting.

"The building we did have was quite dilapidated and we wanted a building refresh which was more environmentally friendly and more pleasing on the eye.

"There's so many benefits for the pupils.

"It will be a cleaner, more modern space which will hopefully be enjoyed by the community for the next 30 years.

"It will benefit Ulverston for years to come."

After spending many hours sourcing a manufacturer, the Pennington Nursery team decided to use Avalon Cabins from Grantham for the building, Mr Collar said.

"They have been brilliant to work with and have delivered us a fantastic building, " he said.

"Everybody who has seen it has commented on how fabulous it looks. For all other work we have used local contractors - Guy McCullough, from McCullough Building Services as our main contractor, Luscombe plant hire for ground works and play area, Sinkfall Recycling for our destruction and waste disposal, ensuring the materials from our old dilapidated buildings could be recycled.

"Many thanks to all of our contractors who have worked tirelessly over the last seven weeks to make sure we were ready to open on time.

"Where possible we have used recycled materials, our rubber flooring in the play area for example has been manufactured from old tyres and our multi coloured fencing has been produced from recycled plastic cups."

Mr Collar said the team is 'looking forward' to the next chapter for the new nursery.

He said "Many thanks to our local community who have rallied together.

"The staff and parents have been amazing with their support.

"We are now looking forward to a new chapter with a brand new, bespoke, custom built, fit-for-purpose nursery ready to serve the community for years to come which is focused on delivering a nursery of excellence."

Mr Collar also described the opening day as a 'huge success' - and welcomed positive feedback from parents who attended the launch party.

He said: "The opening day on Saturday was a huge success, the feedback from the parents on the day

was amazing and the comments on Facebook have been reassuringly fantastic."