45 Mobbs Lane, Carlingford: Childcare centre plans before council
Plans for a 64-place childcare centre could cause traffic and pedestrian hazards for a northwest community, an opponent warns.
Parramatta
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Fears are emerging that a childcare centre for 64 children at Carlingford will compound traffic congestion on a street where a facility already exists.
Designcorp Architects has submitted a development application for the childcare centre at 45 Mobbs Lane to Parramatta Council and proposes to cater for 16 children under two, 32 two and three-year-olds and 16 children aged three to six.
There will be a 16-space basement-level carpark and three playrooms alongside outdoor playground at the centre, which will open Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm.
A double-storey house with a pool occupies the site — which is built on a slope.
A panel refused the application in 2016 and the appeal was dismissed in the Land and Environment Court when the developers’ “overly large’’ design failed to comply with the Mobbs Lane streetscape.
But the new design “differs greatly” from the original proposal and provides a demand for the community, a report has said.
“The proposal will contribute to the community by providing childcare facilities and services that meet the day-to-day needs of residents in the surrounding areas,’’ it stated.
“The proposed building is in the style of a contemporary detached dwelling house and has been consciously designed to minimise its apparent bulk and to protect the acoustic and visual privacy of neighbouring developments.’’
The morning peak could spark an extra 30 trips in and 21 trips out while the afternoon peak is estimated to generate 18 more trips in and 26 trips out.
Parramatta Independent councillor Lorraine Wearne said the topography and parking arrangements were “very unfair to the community’’.
She said previous applications for childcare centres in the neighbourhood, as well as Mobbs Lane, had been rejected.
“Mobbs Lane is a larger road and that has some inherent problems because it has a lot of traffic. There’s so many issues because people drive in and out of these things.’’
Cr Wearne criticised the two-door garage, saying there was no way to drive in and drive out because parents needed to have a horseshoe-style driveway to allow traffic to flow.
She said they would instead avoid driving in and out of the carpark in favour of on-street parking.
“Parents just don’t drive in. They stop on the side, they grab the kids’ hands and run across the road with them,’’ she said.
Cr Wearne said there were already three childcare centres within a kilometre including Papilio Early Learning Epping at 59 Mobbs Lane.
In its application to the council, the developers said the on-site and street parking requirements were compliant with the council and national standards and the extra peak hour traffic would not pose a safety risk.
“This DA is recommended for approval by Parramatta Council as the proposal does not result in any unreasonable environmental impacts and will have a positive contribution to the community,’’ it stated.
Public feedback into the proposal is open until January 11.
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