By timesecholife on in All News, Community News
PLANS for a baby sensory facility to be moved into a vacant shop on a Moorlands high street have been submitted to the local planning authority. Previously a haberdashery, 13, High Street in Cheadle has been unused for approximately six months and now Catherine Potts of Baby Sensory and Toddler Sense Staffordshire Moorlands has applied for permission to transform the venue into a “Baby Sensory and Toddler Sense Wow Centre” according to the planning application form she has submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC). In this document, she said this hub would provide “sensory, development and massage, yoga, reflexology classes to babies from birth to 13 months and sensory, physical activity classes for toddlers aged from 12 months to four years 11 months.”
Mrs Potts said: “Classes have been run in the local area (at Dilhorne Recreation Centre and Freehay Village Hall in the near locality and also at St. Paul’s Church Centre in Leek) for over two-and-a-half years and are very well attended and enjoyed by local parents, grandparents and their children.
“The creation of a Wow centre would allow me to expand the offering to provide specific classes for newborn babies supporting positive parenting and to provide a weekend birthday party hub for babies and toddlers.
“Each hour long class is limited to approximately 15 babies and children, each with a parent or carer and parking will easily be accommodated by the town’s parking facilities.”
Mrs Potts said that classes would run between 9am to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday, with some classes and parties at weekends, if the plans were to get accepted.
She added: “I believe that provision of these services to local parents is hugely beneficial to the health, wellbeing and development of their babies and young children and also has a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the parents and carers alike.
“In addition, many parents enjoy meeting after class which would bring further business to the High Street, maintaining its vibrancy and adding to the current offering.”
The proposed layout states that there would be “no change to the internal layout or total floor space at the property.”
It also outlines that a cloak area, a buggy park and a ‘Sensory and Activity area’ would be situated downstairs with storage and toilets located on the first floor.
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