Community & Business
1 December, 2021
Mareeba childcare centre proposal strikes trouble
A BID to establish a childcare centre on Anzac Avenue might be more problematic for developers than they first thought, with Mareeba Shire Council rejecting a preliminary approval and a request for the project to be assessed by council officers only.
The proposal is for a childcare centre, which would cater for around 70 children, to be constructed on a triangular block next to the Mareeba Bowls Club and Library complex on busy Anzac Avenue.
The developers were asking council to approve a Material Change of Use for a Preliminary Approval and to change the level of the assessment for the project from impact assessable – which allows the public to submit objections or support – to code assessable.
But council had no appetite to change the assessment level, saying it would prevent people from putting in an official submission that would then grant them appeal rights to the Planning and Environment Court.
The proposal has already caused concern amongst nearby residents and Q.I.T.E. which manages an early learning centre within the same area and claims that with three not-for-profit centres not operating at 100 per cent capacity currently, it would spell the demise of their facility.
A petition signed by 73 residents and provided to council earlier this year focused on several issues, with traffic one of the main sticking points.
Recent traffic surveys were cited which showed that approximately 45,322 vehicle movements were recorded during a seven day period, and with trucks now using Anzac Ave to avoid the wombat crossings in Byrnes Street, the road was already under pressure.
“And by the very nature of business carried out by a day care centre, traffic entering and exiting such a facility is consolidated in two 90-minute timeframes during the peak traffic periods of the day,” submitter Michael Cotter wrote.
At the council meeting, Cr Mary Graham said she was also very concerned about how such a development would affect traffic movements on Anzac Ave.
“Traffic on Anzac Ave is an issue now so to put another 70 vehicles on there is going to be real concern because there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to widen the road and put slip lanes in,” she said.
Senior town planner Brian Millard told the meeting that the developer would need to submit a full traffic assessment as part of the application.
“It will be the applicants’ responsibility to prove it will be a safe traffic environment so they have to come up with a solution to manage an additional 150 traffic movements a day,” he said.
Cr Mario Mlikota was more concerned that the public would have an opportunity to have an official say on the project and spoke against the request to change the assessment level of the project from impact to code assessable.
“I am not opposed to a childcare centre there and there is already one in close proximity but I question the request to from impact to code because it will not allow people to voice their views which allows council to make a more informed decision,” he said.
CEO Peter Franks told the councillors that anyone who had submitted an objection to the Material Change of Use proposal already had appeal rights in the P&E Court.
Council was still not satisfied and voted against the oficer’s recommendation. The applicant now will have to submit a full development application which will be impact assessable.
