Former NSW senator Chris Puplick says an expanded childcare centre in his neighbourhood will house kids like ‘battery hens’

A FORMER top state politician has attacked a Sydney childcare centre’s expansion plans, claiming it will be overcrowded, noisy and a traffic hazard and was akin to treating kids ‘like battery hens’.

Neighbours Chris Puplick (left) and Dan McNamara outside the childcare centre. Picture: Adam Ward

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FORMER NSW Liberal senator Chris Puplick is leading a charge against the expansion of a Sydney child care centre, claiming children will be treated like “battery hens”.

Mr Puplick, who is also a former president of the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW and NSW Privacy Commissioner, is among a group of Cremorne residents objecting to a planned expansion of the neighbouring Rhonda’s Cottage centre.

Rhonda’s Cottage currently cares for 29 children during the week but the business wants to expand that number to 80.

Rhonda’s Cottage in Cremorne wants to expand into a neighbouring property.

Applicant the Active Kids Group did not wish to provide comment but it hopes to expand into a neighbouring house on Murdoch St but community members have concerns on several fronts.

“It’s like having kids being treated like battery hens,” said Mr Puplick, who served two terms in the NSW senate between 1979 and 1990.

He is concerned about the amount of outdoor space being created for the children alongside worries about parking, traffic and noise.

“At 29 we are already having serious problems with them in terms of parking, noise and lack of amenity,” he said.

Alongside these problems he is also worried about the waste generated by 80 young children. He pointed out that the area’s garbage collection is on Mondays and is concerned what impact all the extra nappies and waste food would have over a full week.

Chris Puplick is a former NSW Liberal party senator and shadow minister.

Mr Puplick said he first heard about the development when the council put a notification in his postbox, describing it as a “bolt from the blue”.

Neighbours Alistair and Anja Venn, who have two small children, have written a letter of objection to North Sydney Council about the proposal describing it as “enormous”.

They believe almost every element of the plan shows signs of overdevelopment.

“The ‘industrial scale’ of the proposed facility poses material safety threats, will cause major traffic and parking congestion and irreparably damage the character and serenity of this residential area,” they wrote.

The centre looks after 0-5 year olds and the redevelopment works would cost about $300,000. Both 37 and 39 Murdoch St were built in the early 1900s.