The new nursery for the Army Base at Wattisham Flying Station, March 2014.

Bigger and better facilities to look after children have opened at Wattisham Flying Station.

The new Wattisham Airfield Childcare Centre was officially opened yesterday (Thu 13 Mar) by Major General Richard Felton CBE, the Commander of Joint Helicopter Command.

The Holly Road centre is available for families from the military and civilian communities in the isolated and rural area around Wattisham. The new nursery has the capacity to provide day care for up to 52 children aged up to five, as well as after school and holiday clubs for primary school-aged children. It was built by the Ministry of Defence and equipped with funding from Suffolk County Council.

The majority of the children who use the centre are from the approximately 250 military families living at Wattisham, which is the main operating base for the British Army's Apache attack helicopter.

Wattisham Station Commander Colonel Jason Etherington said: “It has been a real pleasure to see this project reach completion. For some years the childcare centre struggled on in demountable buildings that were dated, damp and not really fit for purpose. The new centre is essential to meet the childcare needs of service families living in an isolated rural location. It will greatly enhance the morale of the soldiers based here, who are continually engaged on and supporting operations, to see this investment by the Ministry of Defence in the welfare needs of their families.”

The original centre was established in 1990 and run as a registered charity. Before the new building it operated from a range of demountable buildings that could only cater for 32 children and lacked a kitchen and office space.

Jackie Lyons, deputy chair of the organising committee, said: “The new building is a massive improvement on what we had before, and greatly improves the facilities for families at Wattisham. It has brought us into one building and improved what we can do with the children and the numbers we can take. We opened our doors in January and the children love the new centre, which is the most important thing.”