A disused bowls club in Jubilee Park has been renovated and has reopened as a nursery for children aged between two and five.

After years of break-ins and vandalism Enfield Council and business owner Samina Shabir agreed to convert the property so it could offer high quality education to local families at the heart of the community.

The old pavilion building was renovated by Mrs Shabir and her team, who added new floors and extensively redecorated,

Ofsted consequently gave the nursery the green light to open and it started taking children in January. Now the facility is providing a high quality early years education to the children there and the presence of the nursery has resulted in reduction in reports of anti-social behaviour in Jubilee Park.

Enfield Council Leader, Cllr Nesil Caliskan, visited the nursery on Monday (11 March) and met staff and pupils.

She said: “This is a marvellous facility that has been supplied through genuine partnership working and which delivers clear benefits to the community.

“We review the sites owned by the Council on an ongoing basis and established we could utilise the abandoned bowls club and use it as a genuine community asset.

“Research has shown that children who attend early years education have a higher chance of gaining more GCSEs and going on to obtain a higher salary, improving their quality of life in the future. So this decision really is one that the Council has taken with short, medium and long term goals in mind.

“This project is providing revenue to the Council and is bringing multiple benefits to parents, children and the wider community, it is a win for everyone and is a perfect demonstration of how reviewing our underutilised assets can deliver enormous benefits.”

Mrs Shabir said: “We’re delighted to have collaborated with Enfield Council and the Early Years team to open a nursery in the abandoned bowls club in beautiful Jubilee Park.

“We have had a huge amount of positive feedback from local people in the area who have noticed the positive transformation and the reduction in antisocial behaviour around that part of the park.

“Jubilee Park Nursery is set in a safe enclosed part of the park which allows us to have free flow play where children can explore, play and enjoy the outdoors in a controlled and safe environment all year round, explore nature and learn in a stimulating and natural environment.’

The Free Entitlement (previously Nursery Education Funding) allows 3 and 4 year old children to access up to 15 hours of funded early education and childcare with a nursery, preschool or child-minder that is registered to offer funded places.

The Free Entitlement is delivered through a number of childcare providers in the borough by allowing children to access funded hours. It is not a cash subsidy, instead the Council pays providers to deliver these funded hours through the Nursery Education Fund which is paid directly to the providers.

The Council also funds a number of places for two-year-olds, although this is not a universal offer because the funding is targeted to families that meet the criteria. Parents can check if they meet the criteria here.

To find out more about Jubilee Park Nursery visit their website.