London Borough of Hounslow Council has appointed offsite building specialists, Actavo | Building Solutions, to manufacture and deliver a brand-new, modular, early learning facility to care for children aged 2-3 years.

This new early year’s provision is being established as part of the Council’s statutory duty to provide sufficient free early learning and childcare places for disadvantaged 2-year-old children.

The new, single-storey facility was manufactured and built by Actavo | Building Solutions in just 11 weeks. The new early year’s centre was completed at the end of December 2016.

Comprising a large hall, quiet room, kitchen, bathroom, WCs and staff office, the early year’s facility was built to meet the sustainability assessment that is ‘BREEAM Very Good’.  The nursery is sustainable as defined by the ‘triple bottom line’:  people, profit, planet.

The external of Norwood Green’s new facility has been finished in a brick slip with a covered canopy area. Actavo has delivered a perimeter wall around the facility that will have an electronic gate to maximise safety. Additional facilities also include new bike and buggy stores, as well as a large, grass-crete car park.

Modular building methods are proving popular.

Matthew Goff, director of UK operations at Actavo | Building Solutions, says: “Modular building methods are proving popular with educators as they wrestle with how best to accommodate pupil influxes. Using offsite construction, projects like Norwood Green Early Years Provision can be completed to tight deadlines and on budget.

“Speed and versatility were essential to Norwood Green. They needed permanent space, fast with many modern innovations, which make it both energy-efficient and a delight to be in.”