YOUNG children in Westbury Leigh are set to get a new pre-school in January if plans put to West Wiltshire District Council get the go-ahead.

Plans have been submitted to add a new pre-school extension to Westbury Leigh Junior School.

Currently, the only pre-school provision for Westbury Leigh is Cygnets Pre-School in the Baptist Hall, but the group is outgrowing those premises and needs a more modern site.

Westbury Leigh Junior School's headteacher Mary Murray, who set up the original pre-school at the Baptist Hall, said the new plans are the best solution for everyone.

"The accommodation for the pre-school children in Westbury Leigh is awful at the moment, so we desperately need something new," she said.

"The new pre-school will be on the site here, but will be run independently of our school.

"It will be absolutely brilliant to have the younger children on site here at pre-school age, as they will be familiar with the site and the faces around the place by the time they are ready to move on to the main school."

It is hoped that the new pre-school will open at the same time as the new building currently under construction at the school, with children moving in by the start of the spring term.

Cygnets director, Debbie Gough said: "This is the chance of a lifetime, because finding accommodation is so difficult. I am so chuffed, this is so badly needed in this area."

The pre-school will be run in partnership with the Cygnets group, Wiltshire County Council and Persimmon Homes, which has built the new Leigh Park development.

A spokesman for the county council said: "This is an opportunity to build a pre-school on the same site as a new primary school and a chance to present a new school facility." A residents' survey on the Leigh Park development has also identified a need for more nursery spaces.

Russell Hawker, chairman of the Leigh Park Community Association, which carried out the survey, said the new homes were putting increased pressure on existing services.

He said: "A new nursery is part of a wider plan for community development at Leigh Park, and is part of Persimmon's obligation with the council to provide the infrastructure the new homes need around them.

"But it is a step-by-step process, and there are many steps to take before we will be at the stage of confirming we will get the nursery."