Off-grid forest nursery plan

A new off-grid outdoor nursery is planned by a railway line in the Herefordshire countryside.

Nadine Marshman of Hereford has applied for planning permission for the new nursery, which would be between Shelwick and Shelwick Green, beside the main railway north of Hereford.

Catering for three-to five-year-olds, it would “will be supported by forest school principles, encouraging biodiversity, teaching young children how to respect and look after the environment and following the early years curriculum”, she says in her application.

The nursery would also host holiday childcare and parent-and-toddler groups.

There would be a log cabin-style classroom raised on stilts, with a balcony area and rainwater collected from the roof.

There would be a “small” carpark for eight to ten cars for parents and staff along with secure bike store.

With the exception of fresh running water, no services would be brought to site, he application says.

The three proposed “tree bog” compost toilets would not require a sewage outlets, while waste water “will be used on vegetable patches and growing areas”.

Portable solar units would meanwhile be used to power “small-scale” equipment and lighting, requiring no permanent fixtures.

A six-foot-high wire and timber fence would surround the nursery, with “small breakers to allow for wildlife to continue to travel onto and off the land”, Ms Marshman’s application says.

The one-and-a-half-acre field has already been planted this year with 150 native trees and shrubs, with willow also being planted around the compost toilets “to purify the ground as effectively as possible”, it adds.

Network Rail has confirmed it has no safety concerns over the siting of the nursery.

Comments on the application, numbered 232841, can be made until November 9.