IT'S a brand new beginning for Bury's only state nursery school after hitting the jackpot.

Hoyle Nursery School in Chesham Fold Road has scooped Lottery cash of £208,145. With matching funding from the Government, the money will pay for a new building and nearly double the number of childcare places.

Hoyle is the first nursery school in the UK to have Lottery funding matched by cash from the Government's Surestart Early Years Excellence Programme and the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative. The lottery cash comes from the the New Opportunities Fund's which distributes lottery funds. The capital grants come from the Fund's Building Neighbourhood Nurseries programme which aims to create quality nursery care for young children.

The cash will allow Hoyle to create around 30 new childcare places on top of the 40 youngsters it already caters for. Many of the new places will involve provision for under-twos.

Head teacher Mrs Clare Barker, in charge of the 21-strong staff, said: "This new grant is part of an exciting project and it will be match-funded through the Government's Surestart Early Excellence Programme. We are having a new nursery built."

Last year, drawings for the new Hoyle nursery won a Government-backed Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative design competition.

Mrs Barker added: "We moved out of our old building last Friday and the signboards have gone up. Three quarters of the nursery will be demolished and the new building will be created around the remaining quarter.

"It will be bigger building, offering more space and modern lighting and will be airy and suitable for the needs of the children."

When completed, the new building will allow the nursery to extend its opening to 48 weeks a year and to expand its day care cover and holiday playschemes. During the construction work, nursery school children and staff will be housed in temporary accommodation opposite the existing building. The new nursery should be up-and-running by October.

Meanwhile, excited children will be taking photographs with a digital camera to record the week-by-week progress as the new building takes shape. The nursery has bought toy "hard hats" and other equipment as they play at being builders.