Plans lodged for new $1.4 million preschool at G'bah

THE new centre would cater 60 for children and have 12 employees.

Plans have been lodged with Lismore City Council for a new child care centre at Goonellabah. Picture: Contributed

A DEVELOPMENT application for a new $1.4 million child care centre at Goonellabah has been lodged with Lismore City Council.

The centre would be built in Cassia Crescent and would cater for 60 children and 12 employees.

According to documents lodged by planners Newton Denny Chapelle on behalf of Jarjum, the preschool will be for indigenous and non-indigenous children aged between two-and-a-half and five years.

"The aim of the pre-school is to prepare children to be able to cope and thrive once at school, and also provides for children with additional needs," the report states.

"Jarjum incorporates a variety of programs into the daily curriculum including language and numeracy activities whilst also having the experience and cultural sensitivities to accommodate indigenous and disadvantaged young children."

Plans have been lodged with Lismore City Council for a new child care centre at Goonellabah. Picture: Contributed

In 2015 Jarjum Preschool approached Lismore City Council to ask for help to find a new location for their centre.

The existing preschool at East Lismore was plagued by a number of issues, including an aging building that no longer met the building code, vandalism and the effects of nearby drug and domestic violence problems.

In May 2016 the council unanimously passed a motion to make land available at Clifford Park in Goonellabah to Jarjum Centre Inc for the purposes of building a new preschool.

Now the reclassification of the land is imminent, and Jarjum then intends to buy the site.

Plans have been lodged with Lismore City Council for a new child care centre at Goonellabah. Picture: Contributed

The new preschool will cater for 60 children with 12 staff members, and the development will also include:

• A meeting room that could be used for informal community meetings, school homework sessions, training of staff, activities for small groups
• Office rooms that can be used by allied health professionals to operate from i.e. sensory rooms, speech therapist community nurse, paediatrician, counselling service.

The facility is proposed to operate during school terms from 9am to 3pm each weekday, and will not operate on weekends, public holidays or school holidays.

Before and after school hour care will be provided which will typically extend the operation hours from 7.30am to 5pm each day.