A development application notice for the Goulburn childcare centre, which has applied to council to modify its capacity. Photo: John Thistleton.
A Southern Tablelands council has put the brakes on parking conditions near a planned childcare centre.
The plans for a Goulburn childcare centre, located at 2 Record Street, were first lodged in 2023, and had 109 places. In November that year, Goulburn Mulwaree Council (GMC) approved the development with 100 places.
During a recent meeting, councillors heard Anglicare purchased the site in late 2024.
Anglicare brought the development back before council as it sought to reduce the number of places and make a series of modifications to the centre’s design.
As GMC had previously approved the development application (the DA), only the proposed modifications were being voted on.
According to council documents, the proposal reduced the centre’s capacity from 100 to 91 places.
It means it will now accept 28 children aged between zero and 24 months, 26 aged between 25 and 35 months, and 37 children aged 36 months or older.
Much of the discussion focused on the amount of additional traffic the centre would bring to the area.
The council documents state the basement carpark would still have 25 spaces (as approved in the initial application), including one accessible space.
There are also plans for a dedicated bike storage area, with room for eight bikes.
During the public forum section of the meeting, one speaker outlined concerns over the development’s impact on traffic.
“Record Street does not have the capacity to support this DA. Numerous accessibility, safety and emergency access concerns to the childcare centre, the street residences and to the NDIS house [close to the childcare centre] have been raised – again to no avail,” they said.
Another speaker also said there could be a “chokepoint” and congestion near the centre, with the development bringing extra traffic.
One speaker, addressing council on behalf of Anglicare, told GMC pick-up and drop-offs would be spread over several hours, which would help to manage traffic, as would the reduced number of spaces (meaning a lower number of cars).
“[That means the] load is actually not that heavy,” they said.
This speaker also said construction was expected to take between 10 and 12 months, meaning the childcare centre would open in late 2026.
While councillors did discuss adding permits or other parking conditions, they ultimately decided against putting them in place.
According to council documents, the design changes included the installation of a lift to meet accessibility requirements and the addition of a fire hydrant booster system.
Part of the building’s height was increased 468 mm to 8.46 metres to account for the lift overrun. The majority of the building still remains at 7.9 metres.
“All immediately adjoining residents would still receive more than the minimum three hours of sunlight to their private open space and living areas during the winter solstice,” the documents state.
Anglicare also asked council to remove two conditions of the development’s approval.
The GMC meeting heard Anglicare’s plans to staff the centre include moving across staff from its Orana and Maraluen preschools, and its on-site facility at Goulburn TAFE. Photo: John Thistleton.
According to council documents, Record Street is currently zoned as ‘R2 – Low Density Residential Zone’ and doesn’t need to be rezoned for the centre to operate in that location.
The centre is expected to operate between 7 am and 7 pm (Monday to Friday), and would be closed on weekends and public holidays.
It would also have a maximum of 22 staff, with the plans also including staff and administration rooms, a laundry, and nappy changing facilities attached to each playroom.
