View report page

50
New Maternity and Child Welfare Centre and Day Nursery in
Bessborough Street.
A description of the new building proposed to be erected by the
Council in Bessborough Street for use as a Maternity and Child Welfare
Centre and Day Nursery was included in the Annual Report for last
year, together with a reproduction of the elevation and internal lay-out.
During the year prolonged negotiations for the acquisition of the site
were concluded. Working drawings having in the meantime been prepared
were submitted to tender ; that of Messrs. Prestige & Co., Ltd., was accepted.
The demolition of the dwelling-houses on the site, namely, Nos. 1, 3, 5
and 7, Bessborough Street, was carried out and the site cleared in July,
1936. Building operations began on the 13th July.
Towards the close of the year substantial progress had been made
with the construction, and it is estimated that the work will be completed
and the building ready for occupation during the Summer of 1937.
The building will serve the dual purpose of a Maternity and Child
Welfare Centre and Day Nursery. The former, on the ground floor, will
be under the direct administration of the Public Health Department,
whilst the Day Nursery, administered by a voluntary committee, will
be accommodated on the first and second floors and part of the top
floor, as tenants of the City Council, paying an inclusive rental for the
usual services.
Each floor is provided with a spacious sun balcony facing South and
is reached by passenger lift in addition to wide staircases at each end of
the building. Day Nursery accommodation for some 80—90 children
and for some half-dozen resident children has been provided.
The present small day nursery premises for 40 children at 147, Warwick
Street under the control of the same voluntary committee will be vacated
at the end of September, 1937, when the lease expires.
The Maternity and Child Welfare Centre will also be removed from
old premises situated at 15, Bessborough Street.
The transfer of these important maternity and child welfare activities
from old and unsuitable buildings to a modern building will enable those
activities to be more adequately carried out and will mark an epoch in
the development of those services in the City. Maternity and Child Welfare
is more than merely a branch of public health work; it is an expression
of National opinion, a movement which transcends all others in its influence
on the future position and prosperity of this country.