New day nursery to open on former Lancing police station site
Released: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
A new day nursery is to open on the site of the former Lancing police station.
Pumpkin Patch Nursery has bought the building in North Road from us to create a new children's nursery to serve the local community.
We bought the site, which backs onto Monks Recreation Ground, in 2021 after the police station had sat empty for a number of years.
With the help of flexible office company Freedom Works, the building was converted into a community, charity and small business space known as Fabric. Workspaces, meeting rooms, hot-desking facilities and event space were leased to local groups to help support the community and up-and-coming businesses taking their first steps.
We also reviewed how the whole site could be redeveloped as part of the long-term regeneration of the centre of Lancing's shopping area.
Regeneration was a key focus for the Lancing: Now and into the Future project, which we launched with Lancing Parish Council in October 2022 to explore how the village could be made better for everyone who lives and works there.
Among the aspirations identified by locals were new links between local education and business opportunities, the creation of new work opportunities and extra support for those seeking to work flexibly.
After receiving a number of bids, we decided that Pumpkin Patch Nursery was the best option for Lancing because of the benefits it will bring to the community.
The company currently runs a number of nurseries in Worthing as well as ones in Steyning, Brighton and Hove.
Founder and managing director, Anita O'Hara, said:
“We're very excited to be opening a brand new nursery in Lancing. We'll be providing outstanding childcare for local families as well as career opportunities for local people.”
Councillor Becky Allinson, Adur's cabinet member for regeneration, said:
“Getting the police station site back into use for the benefit of the community will be great news for Lancing. Creating more nursery places for local children will help dozens of families in the village to more easily balance their work and home life, and will bring a new buzz to North Road.
“I'm really looking forward to seeing the new nursery opening its doors for our community.”
The new owners have paid £915,000 for the site. We'll use the funds received to pay off existing loans, cutting the amount we pay each year in interest and repayments so that resources can instead be invested in community projects and programmes for residents.
Photo: Lancing Police Station
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Page last updated: 21 January 2026