Pippa Middleton is following in her sister Kate’s footsteps with her new childcare venture, it has been revealed.
The sister of the Princess of Wales, 41, and her husband, hedge-fund manager James Matthews, 49, have overcome backlash to open a nursery at their Buckleberry Farm in Berkshire.
Pippa and James came under fire after revealing their plans earlier this year when highway bosses voiced concerns that the countryside creche would result in too much traffic in the surrounding area.
Despite the complaints, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden revealed that the couple have received the green light to establish a nursery at the farm, which the council claimed will deliver ‘strong social benefits’, noting the local shortage of ‘early years places’.
Pippa’s upcoming opening is aligned with Kate’s Early Childhood work, a project described as her ‘life’s work’ that seeks to positively impact children in their formative years.
The royal mother-of-three, 43, is striving to support the youngest people in society through The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which works towards a more nurturing society through research and campaigning.
Now, her younger sister has also revealed an interest in the area by growing Buckleberry Farm into a place where young people can access education.
Pippa and James snapped up 72 sprawling acres of land in leafy Berkshire for just £1.5million in 2020 – in a village where a detached house with a garden already costs close to that price.
The rolling fields, which had a ‘wedding tractor’ to celebrate the Prince and Princess of Wales’s marriage in 2010, is currently home to a 44-acre deer park, café, glamping pods and children’s play area.
Bucklebury Farm’s petting zoo was also said to be a favourite of young Prince George when he visited his grandparents.
However, Pippa and James came under fire from highway bosses after revealing their plans to build a countryside creche.
In March this year, roads chiefs said the idea for the rural nursery would mean too many cars.
And a local councillor was so concerned that he called the decision in, meaning it was debated by the planning committee.
The site has been open to the public since 1992 and is located on the edge of the village of Bucklebury, Berks, around 4km north east of Thatcham.
Mr Matthews – whose brother is reality star Spencer Matthews – revealed that he wanted to open the facility for pre-schoolers at their rural Bucklebury Farm in Berkshire.
But the local council’s road experts voiced ‘significant concerns’, expressing worries about the extra number of cars the creche will spark – and recommended the plans be refused.
Cllr Christopher Read, the ward member for Bucklebury, was also worried, applying to have the decision debated by the planning committee.
The Matthews have carried out a series of improvements to Bucklebury Farm since they bought it four years ago, continuing its 40-year success.
It has a deer park, soft play area, animal petting, office space and cafe. There are also rustic glamping tents, where families can stay with just the heat from a logburner and no electricity or Wi-Fi.
They hope the latest plans for a day nursery will give local parents more choice, with no similar facilities for five miles.
Many local ones also don’t provide cover in school holidays meaning parents nearby are missing out on working outside of term time.
Farm bosses wouldn’t need to build the nursery as the buildings already exist, but a change of use would need to be granted to allow them to legally use them for early years education.
It would be housed in a log cabin approved for on-site staff accommodation in 2015, before Pippa and her family owned the park.
A change of use was granted eight years later, to allow the cabin to be used as office space with meeting rooms, a workshop and studio.
But the application was called in at West Berkshire Council to be debated by the planning committee following worries about the traffic the proposals could cause.
At the time, West Berkshire Council’s highways department said: ‘When the local highways authority assessed (the 2023 planning application) there were concerns that the building would be utilised independently of the farm park and that there would be an unacceptable increase in vehicle movements in an unsustainable location.
‘There are no alternative modes of travel to the site other than private car.
‘The application was, on balance, accepted by highways on the basis that the use was proposed to be once or twice a week.
‘This application now seeks to add in a non-residential creche, day centre or nursery. This is a significant concern.
‘This would result in staff and children/attendees’ vehicle movements, travelling to and from the site potentially daily, in what is an unsustainable location.
‘No details of sessions, capacity etc is provided, which should accompany an application such as this, however this will not overcome the highway concerns with this proposal.
‘A creche, day centre or nursery could see a much greater use at the site, potentially daily use, with all staff and children/attendees travelling to the site by private car.
‘The proposed additional use class would result in an unacceptable increase in vehicle movements in what is an unsustainable location.’
They added that they recommended refusal.
However, at the time, the council did add that concerns could be allayed by benefits to the rural economy, the provision of jobs and the lack of similar nearby nurseries.
Bucklebury Parish Council had no objection to this application, but did add: ‘There was discussion about the vehicular access to the proposed facility, which is shared with pedestrians as they enter the farm from the carpark…
‘The plans are not clear on where staff or parents will be expected to park.’
Caroline Downie – writing to West Berkshire planners on behalf of agents Lasseter Downie Planning – tried to calm fears.
She explained that there would be a maximum of 24 children on site and it would take three years to reach capacity.
There would be one manager, two qualified teachers and a couple of apprentices.
‘The local nurseries are at capacity or near capacity,’ she added.
‘This offering as discussed above will not be large but will offer children a unique experience with access to the farm park facilities and the learning that this will provide.
‘The applicant has been researching demand through social media and has established that there are already 17 to 20 parents that are interested should this facility become available to them.’
She estimated 48 extra vehicle movements per day – 240 a week or 12,480 per annum – and less if some children were siblings.
The farm had 45,000 visitors last year, estimated at 30,000 vehicle movements,.
Ten staff add an extra 7,280 a year, meaning adding the nursery would still keep cars below the 70,000 allowed by the local council.