Inside new Auchenflower childcare with giant slippery slide

It was a church, but now this inner-west building is a childcare centre with an indoor slippery slide. TAKE A LOOK

Little Locals Auchenflower has opened to the public. Among it’s attractions is an indoor slippery slide.

The pews have made way for a trampoline, a water feature and 15m indoor slippery slide in this new Auchenflower church-turned-childcare centre.

Little Locals, which opened a fortnight ago, is set to become one of Brisbane’s most fun centres.

It also has a focus on the environment, including a pledge to be carbon neutral and paperless, and murals of Mt Coot-tha on the walls to spark young imaginations.

Children will be taught how to repurpose household waste into new things and there is a vegie patch where the can eat what they grow.

The super fun indoor slippery slide.

Little Locals will be managed by Sophie Jones, who has more than 10 years’ experience.

The 120-place centre is the sixth for the family-owned operators, director Eric Grindley-Ferris said.

He said the Wienholt St centre opened a fortnight ago and still had vacancies for this year.

“It’s a good time to open but places are already filling up for next year,’’ he said.

“We had a lot of inquiries even before it opened.

“This is our first centre in this part of Brisbane — we have a couple in Toowoomba, two in Cairns and one in Bracken Ridge.’’

Fees are $134.50 a day for children aged two to six and $139 for children under two. Prices are inclusive of everything, including lunch and excursions.

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Aerial view of Little Locals Auchenflower. The long disused church has been renovated but a rectory had to be demolished.

Inside the old church. Little Locals says the renovated building will again become a centre of the community.

“We decided to do it like that because with some centres so many things cost extra,’’ Mr Grindley-Ferris said.

“We go up to kindy age and have teachers qualified to take accredited programs for children of that age.’’

Council’s approval of the project in February stipulated Little Locals build a 1.8m high acoustic fence on boundaries adjoining houses, and operate no longer than 6.30am to 7pm, and the outdoor play areas not be used longer than 7am to 6pm.

Current opening hours are 6.30am to 6.30pm.

One of the outdoor play areas.

Three Wienholt St residents lodged objections to the centre, which also has a Milton Rd frontage, expressing concerns about parking and traffic banked up at the Wienholt St/Milton Rd lights during peak hour.

“Wienholt St and particularly its intersection with Milton Rd is already congested due to

general through traffic plus (local traffic generated by) Montessori Children’s House and the River City Hospital,’’ one resident’s submission read.

“Already we on occasion (and mostly out of peak hour) have to wait for a second traffic light cycle to exit Wienholt St onto Milton Rd, while neighbours report up to three cycles.

“Traffic trying to enter and leave the projected underground car park will be blocked by, and/or block traffic queuing to enter Milton Rd or trying to access the River City carpark.

“Before the River City carpark was constructed, Wienholt St residents had regular problems of

blocked driveways due to hospital and Montessori parking.’’

Little Locals Auchenflower has opened and offers some great attractions for children.

However, Mr Grindley-Ferris said that because they had 26 underground parking spaces there would be no extra pressure on street parking.

He said that so far there had been no impact on traffic flow or cars queuing at the lights.

He did not expect that would happen as many parents would not drop off or pick up children in peak hour.

More details: littlelocalsearlylearning.com.au