Roland Dean’s plan to help bayside cope with dramatic change in demographic
With family ties dating back 50 years, Roland Dean now has plans to develop his neighbourhood in a way never seen before.
Southeast
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His family’s relationship with the bayside stretches back 50 years but now this man wants to bring in almost $10 million worth of flashy, new childcare centres to build on the dramatic transformation of one of Brisbane’s rising areas.
Roland Dean, the managing director of Rylatt Pty Ltd, is the developer behind two childcare centre projects in the area.
The first project is a 152 place centre at 220 Stradbroke Ave, Wynnum, which started construction last week, and the second is a development application to build a 108 place centre at 20-22 Ernest St, Manly.
But Mr Dean is no developer from out of town, who has jumped on the bandwagon of the bayside suburbs as the area’s reputation as a growing area has started to build over the past 18 months.
“I actually went to Manly State School and Iona College,” he said.
”I’m a fifth generation Dean and in real estate, my parents started Rylatt Pty Ltd and they bought 56 Ernest St, an old Queenslander and provided affordable housing and accommodation for people since the 1970s.
“I love the area and I love the transformation that’s going on now and the resurgence in demographic.”
And why childcare centres?
“I remember being a kid growing up in Manly, there were no childcare centres, people had to go to Wynnum … There were no childcare centres in Manly for the past 25 years,” Mr Dean said.
“Then the other older ones on the bayside, they’ve been around for 30 years but haven’t spent a cent on their centre. They’re also not located in the right positions, which is next to schools.
“Parents want more and with the resurgence in demographic as far as more young families in the area, it’s what the market wants, you can’t have one without the other.
“Also despite what people might think, childcare is undersupplied by half in the area, another new centre just opened on Ernest St with 89 kids and is flying.
“We also don’t have an operator for Ernest St yet but have been inundated with people wanting to rent it, so how can there be an oversupply, if it’s in such high demand.”
However, his latest proposal to bring a centre to Manly, on one of the busiest streets in the suburb, where Treehouse Early Learning Centre opened just this month, has received some backlash from the community.
One submission against the proposal, which was submitted on November 16, cited traffic on Ernest St as the main issue with St John Vianney’s Catholic School and Manly State School on the same street.
“I do have to admit that Ernest St is already full of frustrating crazy morning rushing parents
who let their kids out of their car on middle of the road while stuck in traffic,” the submission said.
“For kids safety we need Council help to stop any further development to avoid airport like traffic where security is needed at drop off and pick up areas.”
Councillor for Wynnum Manly Peter Cumming said he had started an online petition to oppose the new centre.
“Ernest Street from the roundabout near the BP garage through to Valetta Street is already very congested,” he said.
“I believe that another child care centre would make the situation worse.”
But Mr Dean said he didn’t believe the new centre would make a difference to the traffic in the area.
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“If anything it means less movement because parents have the childcare centres and primary schools right next to each other,” he said.
“And if you look at other popular bayside suburbs around Queensland and Australia, traffic might sometimes be an issue because more and more people are wanting to live there.
“But I don’t think this centre will make any difference to that.”
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