Sefton approved Little Pegs' plan for the old St Jerome's church hall in Formby on 13 October: toddler play, a family café and parties, 17 families a session.
The empty church hall at the former St Jerome’s in Formby is set to reopen as a baby and toddler play centre with a family café. Sefton Council granted planning permission on Tuesday 13 October.
The new use is Little Pegs, a children’s play business that has so far run pop-up sessions from a temporary community venue. The hall on Greenloons Drive will be its permanent home (Sefton planning application DC/2026/01382).
It is the second new use for the St Jerome’s site this year. In July the council approved turning the former church itself into a children’s gymnastics centre (DC/2026/00620).
What Little Pegs plans for the hall
The business’s planning statement sets out the plan. The main use is pre-booked play sessions for babies, toddlers and pre-school children, with a parent or carer staying throughout. Alongside that it plans:
- a family café serving drinks, snacks and light meals to visiting families
- pre-booked children’s birthday parties and private family events, mostly at weekends
- evening hire of the hall by other community groups
- parent sessions such as antenatal meet-ups, baby massage courses and wellbeing workshops, some run by outside practitioners
It is not a nursery or a crèche. “Little Pegs is not simply a place where children come to play. It is a place where families come to belong,” founder Sarah Sumpton, an early years teacher, writes in the statement.
Session times and numbers
The statement proposes three weekday play sessions, each about an hour and 45 minutes long.
| Session | Times |
|---|---|
| Morning | 9.30am to 11.15am |
| Midday | 12.15pm to 2pm |
| Afternoon | 3.30pm to 5.15pm |
Each session is capped at 17 families, with 10 to 12 expected on a typical day. Most places are booked in advance, with a few walk-ins when there is room.
The times are built around St Jerome’s Catholic Primary School next door. The morning session starts after the school run and the afternoon one after collection. A survey of the shared 57-space car park, taken for the gymnastics application on 19 May, counted 38 cars at the 8.45am peak and 35 at 3pm, but 20 or fewer at each Little Pegs start time.
Why the council said yes
The case officer decided the application under delegated powers. The report says the new use would be much like the hall’s old one. As the parish centre it hosted Catholic societies, ran a licensed bar, was hired for functions and was used as an early years nursery (officer report).
Nobody objected. A site notice went up on 13 September and drew no comments from neighbours. The council’s highways, environmental health and conservation officers, Merseyside Police and both Formby and Little Altcar parish councils raised no objection.
The permission carries one condition on how the place runs. The café has to stay part of the play centre. It cannot become a standalone takeaway or caterer for outside events, which the officer said protects people living nearby.
What it means for you
If you have a baby or toddler in Formby, a bookable indoor play space with a café is coming to Greenloons Drive. No opening date has been announced. The statement describes an internal refurbishment first, and the permission must be used within three years.
If you live nearby, expect activity to stay close to what the hall saw as a parish centre. Daytime sessions are staggered away from school times, and evening use is community hire. Noise complaints, if any arise, go to the council’s environmental health team.
Other recent decisions are on our Southport and Formby planning news page.
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