Plans for the 111-place childcare centre in Goulburn were approved on appeal. Photo: Google Maps.
A regional council’s rejection of a planned childcare centre has been overturned on appeal.
According to Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s website, the development application (DA) was lodged in August 2023, with an estimated cost of the centre of $2,233,692.
Applicant George Andary put forward plans for a childcare centre with 113 places for a Deccan Street site in Goulburn.
The DA also proposed knocking down an existing dwelling and removing some vegetation (including a tree) from the site.
There is pedestrian access through Deccan Street. The site also has a secondary street frontage onto Mount Street, as well as a laneway connecting to Mount Street to its northwest.
In July 2024, councillors knocked it back, pointing to 13 objections.
The meeting minutes state that the council’s objections included insufficient information provided about how geotechnical issues would be addressed, a lack of suitability with the area and issues around vehicle access to the site.
Councillors also felt the centre would overshadow nearby existing developments and generate inappropriate noise for the area.
Mr Andary appealed this decision, with a recent decision in the Land and Environment Court giving it the green light.
In his decision, Commissioner Peter Walsh said he was satisfied concerns with the proposal could be managed with amendments to the plans and conditions of consent.
Council and Mr Andary had a dialogue to help resolve their differences (including at a conference earlier this year), according to the decision.
The DA was also amended in June.
The changes included reducing the number of spaces (down from 113 to 111), the maximum height being lowered by 1.4 metres and an increase in the number of carpark spaces.
“The position put to me at the commencement of the hearing was that with the June 2025 DA amendments and mindful of the expert evidence already filed with the court, there was no longer expert evidence against the contentions raised by council in relation to the DA,” Commissioner Walsh said.
However, submissions from members of the public had been made during the proceedings about their concerns with the DA, which still needed to be addressed.
“[These] submissions objected to the proposal on matters including streetscape presentation, building setbacks, overshadowing, visual privacy, noise, heritage conservation impact, general scale and site suitability,” the decision states.
He also sought further expert advice from town planning and traffic experts.
In part of their submissions, members of the public flagged issues around traffic congestion and pedestrian safety, especially for school kids walking around the area.
Goulburn High School is across from the site, while Goulburn Preschool is on nearby Mount Street.
However, the experts said nearby infrastructure (such as refuges and pram ramps on a nearby roundabout) helped ensure pedestrian safety.
Commissioner Walsh also accepted the experts’ opinion that there was enough on-street parking in what he described as “convenient walking distances”.
The experts also said the proposed basement carpark had a series of measures allowing for safe pick-up and drop-off of kids.
According to the decision, a centre-based childcare facility is permissible under the site’s R1 zoning, if consent is sought. Image: Google Maps.
The experts agreed with the public’s submissions that the proposed plan of management for the centre needed to include a pathway to a safe haven site at Victoria Park.
A revised evacuation plan and updated plan of management were prepared to address these concerns.
Commissioner Walsh said conditions around the construction process could mitigate concerns around things such as the proposed excavation work and noise generation.
As part of his decision, he flagged a range of conditions for the development, which were agreed between the parties.
These include the need for Mr Andary to submit a site plan (prepared by a surveyor), showing how the laneway connecting to Mount Street would be realigned to form a perpendicular intersection without encroaching onto nearby private property.
This needs to be submitted to Goulburn Mulwaree Council within 24 months.
Other conditions state the childcare centre will be open from 7 am to 6 pm (Monday to Friday) and be closed on public holidays.
