Work has started on a nursery at the Bridgehead Business Park on the northern approach to the Humber Bridge at Hessle.
Tiptoes, which is run by Paul and Helen Gilson, is due to open its third nursery in August, with the creation of 20 new jobs.
The 50-acre business park is being developed by Hull-based property company the Wykeland Group and when completed will include 612,000sqft of office, research and development and high-tech space.
East Yorkshire house-builder Beal Homes has already relocated its headquarters from Hull to Bridgehead and award-winning laser manufacturer Rofin Sinar UK recently unveiled plans to move to the new park.
Paul Gilson, of Tiptoes, said: “We started talking to Wykeland in 2012 and we are really excited now that work has started. The new nursery has been specially designed with Wykeland to fit in with the ethos of the north’s greenest business park and will be one of the most environmentally friendly nurseries in the UK.
“Everything is designed on a single level with all age groups having direct access to the outside space and covered area. We are located next to the surrounding trees and will have great access to the forest walkway that has been designed by Wykeland in conjunction with and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust that encircles Bridgehead”.
Helen Gilson was a head teacher in Hull and the East Riding and she now oversees childcare and education at the nurseries. She said: “We’ve had a really strong response from parents so far with quite a few children being signed up already.”
The nursery represents an investment of £750,000 by Tiptoes and is about 4,000sqft. It’s an important part of the plan to make Bridgehead one of the most sought-after commercial spaces in the north.
Tiptoes started in 2009 and currently operates two nurseries, in Bricknell Avenue, Hull, and Waterside, Hessle. It has invested more than £2m in the past five years and employs 40 staff.
Grant Edmondson, head of asset management at Wykeland, said: “The ethos is simple – to create a truly first-class business park you have to offer first class amenities and having a Tiptoes-run nursery fits in with that. Having an onsite nursery is going to bring huge benefits to the Bridgehead community.
“The mixture of companies we are attracting goes to show that Bridgehead is one of the most sought after commercial spaces in the Yorkshire region.
“The park employs biomass boilers, solar pv panels, natural ventilation and free night air cooling systems, daylight dimming lights and even electric car charging points, making it what we believe is the most sustainable business park in the north.
Bridgehead is located between the northern approach roads to the Humber Bridge and has been designed with input from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to enhance and protect local wildlife through a combined biodiversity, landscape and drainage strategy.
During the creation of the park the company has planting 8,000 new shrubs and hedgerows, 4,500 herbs and bulbs and more than 200 new trees to enhance and supplement the existing natural landscape.
