A COUPLE who are planning an ambitious project to open a private nursery were celebrating this week after hearing they had won £70,000 of government funding.

Michelle Newton, and husband Jonathan from Accrington, who are renovating a former pub in Agnes Street, Mill Hill, to become the new Care 4 Kids Limited, won £70,000 from the New Opportunities Fund's Building Neighbourhood Nurseries programme.

The pair, along with Michelle's parents Graham and Pat Sutton of Rochdale, have spent the last year putting together the nursery scheme, with the support of the early years team at Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Their new nursery will cater for 68 childcare places, including 15 full places for under twos, plus 26 for school age children.

It is a first time venture for Michelle and Jonathan, who decided to start the nursery after struggling to find affordable, quality childcare for their three children.

Michelle said: "It has been scary, but it is really exciting too. It has hardly sunk in. I didn't think we'd get the funding, if only because we haven't done anything like this before. Once we found out about the nurseries programme, and the concepts behind it, we realised we really wanted to be involved in it. It is about providing childcare in disadvantaged areas, to help people back to work."