A NEW nursery is planned for children of staff at the Oxford Science Park.

The wood-panelled nursery building would be built on a grassy lawn next to the Sadler Building in the south west of the science park.

The science park's management has applied for build the new nursery to replace the 75-space nursery that sits alongside the Magdalen Building in the north east of the park.

The new building would include the same amount of space for kids, as well as room for 20 staff and would be open from 7;30am until 6.30pm.

Once complete, there would also be a new outdoor playpark on an area currently occupied by a lawn.

In a statement attached to its plan, the science park said the new building would be safeguarded by CCTV and the outdoor play area would have a fence and hedge around it.

A semi-circular car park outside the front of the Sadler Building would also be reconfigured to create a pick-up and drop-off point for parents arriving by cars.

There are already existing routes for drop-off and collection if parents are travelling by foot or by bike.

There had previously been plans to build an extension onto the side of the Sadler Building for a new nursery, which were approved in 2019.

However, the science park leadership now wants the building to sit separately but next to the building instead.

Oxford Science Park, founded in 1991, has a strong relationship with the University of Oxford, and is home to approximately 60 companies specialising in research and development.