Leaps and Bounds nursery gets makeover from Wates Living Space

Jul 30 2011 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

YOUNGSTERS at a Paisley nursery are loving life in technicolour ... thanks to caring staff from a building firm.

The Leaps and Bounds nursery, in Clarence Street, was given a complete makeover by employees from Wates Living Space.

As part of the company’s community day, rooms were repainted, fences were replaced and the garden was given a spruce-up, including the addition of some colourful plants.

In addition, the nursery’s baby room was given a special overhaul as it had been flooded in the past.

All of the paint and plants used throughout the building and garden were in bright colours to reflect the fun and educational environment of the nursery.

Wates is one of the companies working on Renfrewshire Council’s five-year £138million Delivering Housing Improvements programme.

All of the contractors working with the council have committed to supporting local communities wherever possible, from taking on local trainees to sponsoring local youth football teams.

Councillor Kenny McLaren, convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Housing and Community Safety Policy Board, said: “This is a huge project for council tenants but it is also important to us that the wider community benefit as well.

“The contractors working with the council on Delivering Housing Improvements are committed to supporting the local communities where they are working and this community day is a fantastic example of that. This was a great event and a real boost to the nursery.”

Wates Community Day is a national event organised by Wates Group in which members of staff are released from their building sites and offices across the UK to deliver projects for charitable organisations in the communities where they are working.

Gillian Lavety, of Wates, said: “We hold a Community Day event every year, with our teams across the country going out into the community to find a worthwhile project. This allows us to give something back to the community we are working in.”

The council’s housing programme – which is currently in its second year – will see thousands of tenants receive new kitchens, bathrooms and rewiring, as well as new or upgraded central heating systems, to bring all properties in line with the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015.