Donegal Town forest preschool with natural world ‘connection’ awarded planning, promising local jobs and nature-based learning
A proposed forest preschool near donegal Town has been granted planning permission by Donegal County Council. The single-storey building, sited adjacent to Rossylongan Forest, is designed as a sessional childcare service and will include outdoor play space and other site works.
Donegal: What did the council approve?
Donegal County Council granted planning permission for a proposed Rossylongan Forest Preschool with 15 conditions attached. The application, lodged by Kelly Reid, the listed applicant, sought permission for a single-storey building to facilitate pre-school activities, a car parking area, a new effluent treatment system with percolation area, and all associated site works. The applicant said the project is “designed in full accordance with Tusla and Early Years Services Standards, accommodating a sessional childcare service for up to 22 children and three staff members. “
How will the forest preschool teach children?
The planning documents and a supporting letter set out a learning model that blends indoor and outdoor activity. The planned preschool would “encompass both indoor and outdoor elements, ” with activities such as forest walks, wildlife observation, gardening and use of outdoor play areas central to learning. The supporting letter said, “Children’s interaction with the natural environment has been shown to improve not only their physical and mental health but also the health of the environment that they inhabit. ” It added that the surrounding Rossylongan area offers “ample open space, forestry, and natural beauty, ” creating a setting suited to sensory exploration and a connection to the natural world.
What conditions and local impacts will follow?
The planning permission includes specific conditions designed to shape how the preschool operates and appears in the landscape. One condition requires that signage be in the Irish language only, or that Irish be first in area, size and prominence to other languages. Another condition requires a contribution of €497. 51 in respect of public infrastructure and facilities that benefit the area. The application documents emphasise both practical and environmental infrastructure: the provision of car parking, an effluent treatment system with percolation area, and associated site works were all part of the approved scheme.
The supporting letter also made an economic and community case. It stated the preschool would provide jobs for local educators and staff and would stimulate nearby businesses. It suggested a well-established nature-based preschool in Rossylongan could “help Donegal stand out as a forward-thinking community that values innovation, child-centred education rooted in nature” and could serve as a model for other rural communities seeking to enhance early childhood education.
Kelly Reid, the listed applicant, framed the proposal as a centre for eco-friendly practice and early green education. The supporting letter concluded: “This preschool can encourage sustainable, eco‐friendly practices from an early age, making it a hub for green education. Rossylongan, Donegal Town, with its vast natural resources, is ideally suited to raising a generation of environmentally cons”
Planners approved the mix of educational ambition and site works on the basis set out in the application and attached conditions. The permission moves the project from proposal toward delivery, while the conditions and contribution point to what the council expects in return: responsible development, appropriate signage, and a contribution to local infrastructure.
Back at the edge of Rossylongan Forest, the project is framed as more than a building: it is an attempt to place early childhood education amid the trees and open spaces that planners and the applicant describe as peaceful and low-traffic. Whether it becomes a template for other rural areas will depend on implementation, community response, and the everyday work of staff in a setting that seeks to bind young children to their natural surroundings. For families in donegal Town, the permission marks the start of a local experiment in nature-based preschooling whose full influence will unfold as the site moves from plan to practice.
