St Just nursery hopes community can help it grow

A waiting list stretching into 2027 says a lot about how much West Cornwall wants what The Brambles Nursery and Children’s Centre in St Just is offering. What it doesn’t have is the room to give it to them, which is why the charity has just asked the wider county to help pay for one.

Waiting lists into 2027

The Brambles has been caring for children and supporting families since 2011. Around 75 children currently attend, and demand has kept climbing to the point where new families joining the waiting list now won’t get a place until 2027 at the earliest.

The charity’s answer is a new, purpose-built baby room, with space for up to 12 more babies to start their learning journey there.

£50,000 down, £130,000 to go

Cornwall Council has already put £50,000 towards the project in grant funding. The trouble is the whole build is expected to cost around £180,000, leaving a large gap still to close.

As a charity, The Brambles works to keep its fees among the lowest in the area, which the nursery says means there isn’t a pot of profit or reserves sitting around to cover a building project this size. Rather than pass that cost on to families through higher fees, it has turned to the community instead, launching the “Help Our Brambles Grow” campaign on Crowdfunder with a target of £130,000.

Under the platform’s “keep what you raise” model, St Just charity keeps whatever comes in from pledges made before the campaign closes at 1pm on 11 December 2026, whether or not the full target is hit.

How to help

The ask isn’t only for cash. The nursery says sharing the campaign would make a real difference on its own for anyone not in a position to donate, and it’s also keen to hear from local businesses or organisations who might want to sponsor the project, fundraise on its behalf, or simply help spread the word.

Since opening in 2011, the nursery has gone from a small local setting to one that families across West Cornwall are queuing up for. Whether that queue starts moving any faster now comes down to how many people back the “Help Our Brambles Grow” campaign between now and December.