PLANS to convert The Black Fox pub on Liphook’s Portsmouth Road into a children’s nursery and pre-school are being considered by the South Downs National Park Authority.

Pre-application advice has been sought by the owners of Green Roots Nursery, based in Emsworth, to apply for change of use.

Green Roots claim the proposal will involve minimal operational development with most works proposed internally.

No new buildings are proposed as part of the change of use and the site is well enclosed by substantial planting, minimising view of the property from its surroundings and there is ample parking on site to facilitate the morning, afternoon and evening peak drop off and pick up periods.

The nursery states the proposal would result in no material change to the visual amenities or landscape characters of the surrounding area.

The Black Fox is currently for sale, but has been unable to attract a buyer willing to make the necessary investments to continue to use it as a pub.

Its location is on a key commuter route between Liphook and Petersfield and Green Roots believes the proposal would not encourage greater car usage to increase traffic on the rural road network.

It also stressed the change of use would facilitate the continued use of the building and prevent its being left vacant and becoming run down and unsightly.

The firm said, in addition, allowing the proposal would lead to a community benefit and would serve the rural communities in the vicinity allowing working parents to drop-off and pick-up their young children on the way to, and from, work.

Green Roots Nursery already runs a collection of successful children’s nurseries within the region.

One of its key focuses is on providing children with “high quality and interactive outdoor experiences,” allowing them to explore and experience all that nature has to offer, which it says, would fit in with the national park authority’s key purpose, by locating a new Green Roots nursery in the South Downs National Park.

The site, on the B2070, lies within the national park as well as Milland’s neighbourhood plan area, which supports the extension and development of existing and new community buildings and aims to protect existing community uses.

The emerging national park authority policy supports the retention of community infrastructure, which would include children’s nurseries and pre-schools.

Green Roots claims the proposal would facilitate the retention of a community use on site, albeit different to the existing use and that without the proposed development it is likely the public house will struggle to attract the investment it requires to remain occupied, taking account of changing trends.

The nursery feels the proposed use would bring substantial community benefits to the locality by serving villages as well as commuters and it represented an opportunity to retain a community use and provide regular local employment to people in the area, which would contribute to the rural economy.

The Green Roots website states that their “holistic approach to childcare involves the whole family, providing first class care for each child and offering much more than just a childcare facility.”

Green Roots also encourages “a powerful love of learning through providing new, interesting and stimulating experiences” and will help children “learn social skills and manners in a positive way, be involved in real life-enriching experiences, such as preparing meals and discovering the natural world, making individual choices and expressing themselves through purposeful play”.

The nursery caters for babies and toddlers, while the pre-school looks after children aged between three to five years old.

Green Roots takes part in an annual team survey and all nursery practitioners hold a minimum of a level three childcare qualification and receive a thorough induction upon appointment in order to fully understand their role and the Green Roots ethos.

Leaders hold a designated safeguarding qualification and are qualified first-aiders. In addition, the team accesses training courses through West Sussex County Council on a variety of topics and undertakes online training on subjects including health and safety, moving and handling and food hygiene.

Liphook recently lost its well-established and popular Willows Nursery, after Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council served an eviction order on the nursery’s long time premises at the beacon building at the recreation ground.

The council relocated The Willows to the Millennium Centre on a short-term lease, which expired last summer, leaving parents in a desperate search for replacement nursery places.

lPlans are now in place to open a new pre-school nursery for three to four year olds on the Church Centre site off Portsmouth Road, in September, which will be run by the Anglican church.

It will be known as the Ark Pre-School Nursery, and has already received the seal of approval from Hampshire County Council’s children services department.