By Matthew Sims
A group of residents in a Narre Warren North housing estate have proposed launching a class action to fight Casey Council’s approval of a childcare centre to be developed on 154 Drysdale Avenue in Narre Warren North.
Casey Council approved a planning permit for the use and development of a childcare centre on the land on Tuesday 3 October, with the demolition of the $1.9 million house at the property expected soon.
The plans outlined a $2.9 million early childhood education facility at the site, which would accommodate 110 places.
The residents’ grievances with the development’s approval included the impacts it would have on traffic, amenity and overall neighbourhood character and the over-saturation of similar childcare centres in the area, as well as the development being exempt from notice and appeal via VCAT.
In a joint letter to Casey Council administrators chair Noelene Duff PSM, Highgrange Estate residents said they believed the council’s decision to not bring the application before a public meeting reflected incompetence by the council.
“There clearly has been no communication in a fair and just way,” the letter read.
“We stand by our educated and informed opinion that given the rights to a VCAT appeal, a judge would have overturned council’s approval.”
In a further letter to Ms Duff, Highgrange Estate resident Sylvia Plaggemars said the development would create a number of issues for amenity and traffic in the area.
“The plan to put a double-storey 110-place childcare centre in this location is absolutely absurd and also considering one has also been built less than 300 metres away on the next corner is a lack in duty of care when assessing ‘over-saturation’ of a particular service,” she said.
“The entry to this childcare centre is going to be in Drysdale Avenue as soon as residents turn into the estate.
“This will detrimentally impact traffic trying to get in or out of the estate.”
Bounded by Belgrave-Hallam Road to the north and west, the Princes Freeway to the south and Tinks Road/Ernst Wanke Road to the east, the land has been covered by the Cell ‘K’ Development Plan, which was first adopted on 6 August 1996 and last amended on 24 March 2009.
Under the development plan, a Development Plan Overlay (DPO) also applies to this area, which makes an application exempt from notice and review, as well as appeals via VCAT, if it is generally in accordance with a development plan.
Casey Council completed a review of the Casey Planning Scheme in 2022, with the report into the review adopted at a council meeting on 13 December 2022.
The review included a progress update on recommendations made in the 2018 review, with one of the priorities listed as removing all redundant Development Plan Overlays (DPO) where they have been identified as no longer being required to guide development within a specific area.
While this review of DPOs was scheduled as part of the 2022/23 strategic planning work program, Casey Council planning and building manager Tania Asper said the review was currently underway and was expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
“Any recommendations made as part of the review may require actioning via new planning scheme amendments to the Casey Planning Scheme,” she said.
“These amendments may then be required to be placed on public exhibition prior to being submitted to the Minister for Planning for final approval.
“As the review recommendations are not yet finalised, the timing and detail of any planning scheme changes are unknown at this point in time.”
Ms Asper said council placed 34 conditions on the planning permit issued, including modifications to the design , landscaping, drainage, traffic, use and development, and expiry.
“An assessment of the application for a childcare centre at 154 Drysdale Avenue in Narre Warren North was made against all relevant legislation and relevant policies within the Casey Planning Scheme, and this resulted in the approval of the application,” she said.
According to the 2021 Census, there were 356 children aged zero to four years in Narre Warren North.
A newly constructed and operational centre has been operating less than two kilometres away from the proposed planning permit at 1 Capra Court, accommodating more than 130 children aged six weeks to six years, while another centre accommodates more than 100 children at 280-283 Belgrave-Hallam Road, about 3.5 kilometres away from the proposed development.
Other centres were currently operating in Narre Warren, Narre Warren North, Endeavour Hills, and Hallam, with all centres confirming they were not operating to full capacity and had vacancies available in 2023/2024.
South-Eastern Metropolitan MP Ann-Marie Hermans once again raised the issue in Parliament on Tuesday 17 October.
“It is in an area where the roads are narrow and residential people live,” she said.
“There is one way in and one way out, and there are not the children for the childcare centre.”
