MORE than £2m is to be spent on replacing outdated nursery pre-fabs with permanent buildings at four Forest primary schools.

The cash is coming from the Government's Sure Start and Early Years Childcare grants and work is expected to start this spring with completion by the autumn.

In the Dean, the four school's set to benefit are:

•Hopebrook Primary School, Longhope. £512,000 to provide a new home within the school grounds for the Pippins Nursery.

•Hartpury Nursery. £630,000 to replace a 48-place pre-school before and after school club with a permanent building.

•Mitcheldean Early Learners, currently housed in the community centre. £448,000 for a new permanent 26-place pre-school building in the grounds of Mitcheldean Primary School.

•Woolaston Pre-school group. £472,000 towards a brand new 26-place pre-school building.

In most cases, the money will go towards rehoming the pre-school and after-school clubs from dated Terrapin or Elliot pre-fab style buildings.

Jane Seaborn from Pippins Nursery said: "It is going to make a fantastic difference to us. Our original building was demolished and we're now in a very old Terrapin building kindly given by Longhope Baptist Church. It's quite old and becoming quite decrepid but we're doing our best to keep going."

The new building will allow the group to offer 26 pre-school and before and after school club places, with kitchens, play areas, a sensory room and covered outdoor play area.

Sandra Donaldson, Gloucestershire County Council's children's centre project manager, says the grants, totaling more than £7.3m across the county, have to be spent on capital projects and are unlikely to be repeated, although there are smaller grants being negotiated for "enhancements to kitchens, access and gardens."