WAGGA City Council has approved plans for the city’s 46th child care centre.
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Estimating to cost $640,000, the new child care centre in Turvey Park will accommodate 80 places and offer full and part time day care.
The spokesperson for the unknown company behind the child care centre Darryl Forbes-Taber, a building designer and project manager, said the centre will service residents and workers in the south west section of the city.
“It’s all about the location and where a high level of traffic is heading into town for employment,” Mr Forbes-Taber said.
“The centre is on a heavy traffic route and will allow people from areas like Lloyd, Tolland, Turvey Park and Glenfield Park the ability to drop and pick up their child to and from work.
“The centre will also open from as early as 6am and will therefore accommodate parents who may work earlier shifts like out at the RAAF Base and the university.”
Mr Forbes-Taber said his client have decided to invest again following their selling of a child care centre in Wagga about five years ago.
The approved site is on the corner of Urana Street and Wade Street, part of the newly established College Estate.
According to the national My Child website, there are 45 registered child care centres in Wagga.
Mr Forbes-Taber said there is high demand for “good quality” and “state of the art” facilities that meet the current policies, regulations and the advanced technologies.
“I’ve designed 17 child care centres in the last five years all around the Riverina and we’re looking at building another centre in Wagga in the next 12 months,” he said.
“The contract for the construction has been set and the builder is expected to be on site early as three weeks.”
However centre director at Possums Playground Megan Cameron argued that there is not a shortage of child care centres in Wagga.
“I don’t think there is a shortage at all and I don’t think there is a need in the community for another child care centre,” she said.
“At times, I know centres around Wagga have struggled to get the numbers and some centres in Ashmont and Lake Albert are struggling to fill spaces.”
Ms Cameron said the zero to two years age group often fills up quickly and therefore a new child care centre should focus on this sector.
“Generally ages zero to two are always really full and there’s specific ratios of child care workers needed to accompany them and they are usually limited spaces,” she said.
The approved centre will accommodate 12 baby spaces, with five separate playrooms, and Mr Forbes-Taber said the major factor driving the limited spaces available in this age group is often because some families have “preferential treatment”.
“Some child care centres in Wagga don’t cater for babies, which is also a reason why there is limited spaces available,” he said.
“Some families often have all their children in the one centre because they put their child in as a baby and then when it progresses to the second age group, the mum might have a second child to fill the baby spot.
“This may happen over a three to four year period and there is often a continuity of families getting preferential treatment.”