More than 100 families could be left without childcare unless a pre-school can prove there are “very special circumstances” for building a new site on the green belt.

Dawn to Dusk Day Nursery is being turfed out of its current premises at the Orchard Academy in Swanley.

The crumbling main building in St Mary's Road has fallen into a state of disrepair and is being rebuilt as part of the government's £1bn school programme.

But the development does not factor the nursery into its plans and so Swanley Town Council, which has recognised the importance of the facility to local families, has offered up a car park as a potential venue for a new home.

The Birches is located next to the town's park and sits within the green belt.

However, it meant when a previous planning application went before Sevenoaks council on July 19, it was refused on account of being an "inappropriate development in the green belt".

Councillors decided there was "insufficient information" to justify building on the site and noted the potential adverse impact it could have on parking facilities.

But the case officer confirmed the design and external appearance of the new building was sympathetic to the park's character.

It was also suggested there were opportunities to introduce further tree planting, particularly along the boundaries, which would help to reduce its impact.

The applicant has now revised and re-submitted its bid to take account of these comments in the hope “very special circumstances” can be met to justify building a new nursery on the land.

The proposal includes the introduction of several new trees along the boundaries to provide a "natural screening" of the car park and the new single-storey nursery building. Click here to view and comment on the plans.

Also factored in are several ecological enhancements such as bat, hedgehog, and nesting bird boxes.

In its application statement, the nursery said: "The local community of Swanley benefit greatly from our facility.

"We cannot really stress enough how vital this nursery is to the local people of Swanley."

"We are the biggest children’s day care facility in all of Swanley, with an excellent reputation created by our lovely staff and families we look after."

It adds: "We are in a position where the entire children’s nursery could disappear overnight next year in April as a local Swanley family-run business of 26 years.

"Twenty four jobs, all of whom are local residents, apprentices' training cut off, local families who need nearby childcare for them to be able to work, will all go, and without any replacement or spaces elsewhere to cater for them.

"These are facts. We cannot really stress enough how vital this nursery is to the local people of Swanley."

A supporting letter was also submitted by Swanley Town Council chief executive Ryan Harman, which attempts to demonstrate how other sites looked at – including Swanley Recreation Ground and the Waterton Estate – are less suitable than The Birches.

But some residents have branded it a "stupid location" for the nursery which was rated "good" following its most recent Ofsted report.

"The number of cars accessing this new super-sized nursery will not allow sufficient parking for the park, " said one neighbour.

"We need nurseries and this nursery does a great job. But this is a stupid location."

Another local added: "It is a totally unsuitable place to site a commercial building.

"It would bring a building into green belt... more pollution and noise to a beautiful park from these vehicles plus extra cars coming and going to the nursery."

But others were more supportive of the proposals and the role the business plays in the community.

"This is an exceptional nursery and they really deserve the opportunity to have this place to keep running the business," one said.

"They are always looking at opportunities to improve the kids' development and being close by the park will be amazing."

Another added: "With the development of Orchards Academy it is fundamental the nursery moves, but remains within reach of the families who use it.

"The move to the park will enrich the nursery, providing much needed new facilities at the door step of the park."

They also praised the plans to develop a forest school, teaching children about the the environment and said the new location would be "perfect" for that.

The applicant, 40-year-old Akhil Patel, whose partner Rakhee, 41, runs the nursery, told KentOnline there had been a lot of misinformation spread about the project.

"We can't compete with the sort of money property developers put forward, we are just a nursery."

"I think some people have got the impression we are trying to destroy the local park," he said. "We are not doing that at all.

"I understand some of the concerns in saying it is green belt but we are only building on the concrete car park and we are actually increasing the number of car parking spaces."

Mr Patel said there would be ample parking for both the public and users of the new nursery, which operates between 7am and 7pm.

The sports osteopath added the drop-off situation at the nursery is "completely differently" to schools and pointed to surveys conducted which he says show there are never more than seven cars.

However, Mr Patel fears if he can't find a suitable new home, more than 100 families in Swanley could be left without childcare.

"We can't compete with the sort of money property developers put forward, we are just a nursery," he added.

"We are punching so far above our weight. We have got to find the money and somewhere to build this."