News

Fern Street Children’s Centre update: Planning permit granted

3 May 2022

As you might be aware, the plans for the children’s centre were delayed by opposition to the planning permit which resulted in an appeal with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal [VCAT].

A favorable decision for the permit application was reached and Bayside City Council can now proceed with progressing the project. The plans will be released for tender this month and we anticipate construction will commence later this year

Project information

The children’s centre will cater for 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten and include a single multi-use room catering for occasional care, playgroup and community activities, and a maternal and child health (MCH) consulting room. The site will also feature a children’s sensory garden linking to FG Tricks Reserve.

In response to previous community feedback, we have amended our plans so that the Centre will now include 18 on-site carparks which will be positioned east of the building. Additionally, the car park will include a disabled parking space and vehicle turning space.

The playground upgrade planned for FG Tricks Reserve will be delivered as part of Council’s Playground Improvement Plan as a separate project. The playground upgrade is anticipated to be delivered during Council’s 2024/25 budget.

The two kindergarten rooms will include staggered operating times (offset by half an hour) to manage the impacts of traffic in the nearby residential streets during peak drop off/pick up times, Monday to Friday around 8:15am and 4:45pm.

The maternal child health (MCH) consulting room will operate outside of the peak drop off/pick up times between 10:15am to 2:45pm. The MCH consultation room will be available by appointment only and managed by Council to ensure that no than two appointments overlap at any time. The multi-purpose community room will operate from 10.15am to 2.45pm for playground or community group.

We will continue to provide you with updates as the project progresses. If you have any further questions, please get in touch via email fcampbell@bayside.vic.gov.au or by calling 9599 4403.