A UNIQUE Scandinavian-style forest kindergarten, believed to be the only one of its kind in the county, is to be built on a half-acre site next to a West Somerset village cricket ground.

Somerset Council approved a plans by Rebecca Moore, of Lille and Wild, who will run the venture with her sister Victoria, both of whom are childcare professionals.

Now, Ms Moore can build a log cabin-style nursery using a former stable building concrete slab floor beside Stogumber Cricket Club.

Council planning officer Denise Todd said although the site was on the edge of the community there were good walking connections into the heart of Stogumber.

Ms Todd said support for the plans had come from the parish council and also a number of residents who pointed out Stogumber had an ‘excellent village school, but there is no nursery or pre-school in the village’.

She said the kindergarten would provide only limited accommodation because it aimed to provide a ‘fully outdoor, rural nursery setting, unique to Somerset and founded on the principle that the provision of an amazing outdoor environment can offer pre-school children enhanced learning outcomes and experiences’.

Ms Todd said: “It is therefore considered that the limited facilities are accepted.”

Planning agent Rebecca Randall, of Polden Planning Ltd, said: “A forest school kindergarten, as is proposed, is unique from a traditional pre-school group setting.

“As far as we are aware, there are no other forest nurseries operating in Somerset.”

Miss Randall said the early years setting would encourage uptake for Stogumber’s primary school.

She said: “It would meet a demonstrated need for early years provision which is currently unmet within a ‘desert’ for such facilities.

“The philosophy behind the forest school is that children will spend most of the day playing and learning outside, as advocated by the Scandinavian outdoor approach.

“Other UK forest nurseries often do not include permanent buildings or toilets.

“Instead, temporary structures such as yurts are constructed during winter months to provide shelter with composting toilets available.

“Simple, rustic facilities are an integral part of the forest school ethos to create an early years environment that is immersed within its rural, outdoor environment.

“In this case, we are proposing a small service building with an adult toilet is included.

“The building will allow younger babies to attend all year round and provide a secure space for equipment storage and on occasions of high winds and/or torrential rain.

“For toddlers and children, the entire nursery day is generally spent outside, which is why the building area is not expansive.

“There is a free-flow veranda space, and a sheltered location set down within the trees has been chosen.

“The forest school philosophy is one of making the most of the outdoor environment, particularly in rural areas where children can learn through play in nature, from splashing in puddles to den-building, from mud kitchen cooking to painting stones.

“Outside cooking with fires, much like the forest school sessions widespread across Somerset schools, would take place under the supervision of qualified staff.”