$2.1m child care centre in Wembley approved

A $2.1 million child care centre on Selby Street, Wembley has been approved.

The Metro West JDAP voted on Thursday to approve Planning Solutions’ modified plans to build a two-storey child care centre.

Town of Cambridge councillor Rod Bradley voted to reject the plans.

JDAP members, Crs Andres Timmermanis and Rod Bradley, voted in January to reject Planning Solutions’ original plans to construct the centre because of the buildings commercial use, design and location in a residential zone.

The original development plans included a two-storey building with a flat roof, an upper floor, unroofed, outdoor play area, 13 car parking bays, vehicle access from a 6m wide crossover to Herdsman Parade and pedestrian access from both Selby Street and Herdsman Parade.

The new plans, drawn by architects Mackay Urbandesign, have a pitched roof and pergola materials have been changed to reflect residential architecture.

The fencing along Hersdman Parade has been also been setback even further and a gabled porch feature is planned for the Selby Street centre entrance.

Town of Cambridge Mayor Keri Shannon said there were significant improvements made to the development but she still had an issue with its bulk and scale.

“It’s still large on a prominent lot in a residential zone – its type of use will be exasperated by 63 children,” she said.

Planning Solutions Senior Planner Alessandro Stagno said the modified facility would now look like a home, its initial bulk and scale had been reduced, its Town policy requirements had been met and the development was consistent with other buildings in the area.

Mackay Urbandesign architect Malcolm Mackay said altering the plans involved reviewing the previous design and looking at the context and architectural character of the Selby Street streetscape.

“The Selby Street facing side will now have a noticeably pitched roof and windows are of a traditional manner,” he said.

“From the Eastern side of where there is existing residence properties, it will look more like a domestic form of architecture and breaks down the perceived scale and bulk of the site – as far as plans are concerned, they’re pretty much the same functionally, just different with how it looks.”

Cr Bradley said he was “not happy” with the size of the development.