Glenwood Park homestead spared from $2.5 million child care centre development after Blacktown City Council rejects third bid

A property developer has failed for a third time to transform a heritage-listed homestead into a $2.5 million child care centre. See why the plans were rejected.

A heritage-listed building in western Sydney will be spared from being turned into a child care centre, after a developer’s bid to transform the site failed for a third time.

Blacktown City Council refused developer Akula Investment Management Pty Ltd’s application to build an early education facility for 66 children in the early-19th-century homestead at 174 Glenwood Park Drive, Glenwood.

The developer sought approval to make “alterations and additions” to the home, including removing “non-original walls, doors, and joinery” and building an “indoor play space”, cot room, office and amenities inside.

A heritage-listed home at 174 Glenwood Park Drive will be spared from being turned into a child care centre, after a developer’s bid to transform the site failed for a third time. Picture: Supplied.

Although the $2.5 million plans also proposed protecting and retaining original fireplaces and doorways, they also sought to remove 15 trees from the property “to accommodate the development”.

“The proposed development has been designed to ensure it provides a well-designed facility that appropriately responds to the heritage significance of the site and the low density residential character of the precinct,” a planner said.

“The proposal will facilitate the development of the site by providing a new high-quality child care facility that utilises an existing heritage item.”

The application proposed building 23 car spaces for parents – 11 for the centre’s car park and 12 drop-off spaces.

As well as using the original home, Akula Investments sought to build an additional single-storey “indoor play space” at the rear of the 2395 sqm property, and to provide 473 sqm of “unencumbered outdoor play space” for the children.

“The outdoor play space provides a number of play surfaces consisting of rubber soft fall and synthetic turf, selected to create a stimulating outdoor environment facilitating passive and active play,” a planner said.

“The impact of the new development on the heritage significance of the item is minimised as the building additions are to be located adjacent to the original structure, which retains the setting.”

The heritage-listed property sits on 2395 sqm of land in Glenwood, child care centre, after a developer’s bid to transform the site failed for a third time. Picture: Supplied.

This is the third development application Akula Investments has submitted to Blacktown City Council to repurpose the homestead.

The first was lodged in 2016 and proposed a child care centre for 90 children with 40 parking spaces.

Council refused the application on June 9, 2017, because the site was not “suitable for the scale of the development” and would have “undesirable impact” on the heritage building.

The application was appealed to the Land and Environmental Court in 2019 – during which it was amended to propose a centre for 60 children, a redesigned carpark and “reduce the size of the additional built form.

The court dismissed the appeal and refused the application “noting that insufficient information had been submitted to adequately demonstrate that the intensity and scale of development did not adversely impact on the heritage character of the site or the amenity of surrounding development”.

On October 19, 2020 Akula Investments tried again, this time proposing a childcare for 58 children. After assessing the application, council requested the plans be withdrawn “to address issues relating to traffic, heritage, Engineering and Open Space”.

The property, named ‘Glenwood Park’ in 1941, is believed to have been built around 1893. The land has been used as orchards, for crops and grazing cattle, a dairy, for horse breeding and training, and then, in 1999, a medical centre.

The NSW Department of Housing took possession of the house in the 1980s and it was left largely neglected for years, before being “badly damaged” by a fire in 1995.