Canterbury childcare centre and medical centre plan causes concern
A $4 million plan to transform a heritage home in Canterbury into a three-storey medical and childcare centre that will cater for 170 kids has neighbours up in arms.
Inner East
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A multimillion-dollar dual medical and child care centre proposed for Canterbury has attracted the ire of neighbours who fear it will stick out like a sore thumb.
Canterbury’s Jillian Hood said the proposal for a $4 million dollar three-storey commercial building including medical suites and a childcare service at 14 Balwyn Rd, Canterbury, was out of touch with the surrounding heritage streetscape.
She also feared it would add to traffic congestion on busy Balwyn Rd, which was already gridlocked during peak hour, particularly during the school year.
The proposal notes the new commercial premises will cater for 170 children and include 52 carparks to be used by both the medical centre and childcare.
The property is located within a neighbourhood residential zone, and while it is affected by a heritage overlay it can be redeveloped provided a planning permit is obtained.
The proposed changes to the existing house had the potential to set a precedent for the area, Ms Hood said.
“What’s a heritage overlay worth and what’s its purpose when developers can over rule it? “Heritage overlay will become a joke,” she said.
Neighbour Sally Levy said the site should be redeveloped for residential use and she knew of about 10 other childcare centres in the area.
Jacinta, who did not want her full name published, said she didn’t believe nearby childcare services were at capacity and questioned if all the services in the area were sustainable.
Urbis senior consultant Roger Wettenhall, acting on behalf of the developer Nick-Gav Nominees Pty Ltd, said the height of the building was “well within” the limit set for the area.
The council’s traffic department and their own project engineers advised the impact the commercial premises would have on traffic on Balwyn Rd was also acceptable, he said,
And acoustic consultants provided advice on how to mitigate potential noise impacts the childcare centre may have on nearby homes, this included installing noise screens along the driveway, he said.
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Boroondara Council spokesman Shiran Wickramasinghe said a report on the proposal would be presented to the council following public consultation in a process expected to take about a month.
Mr Wickramasinghe said the site was zoned Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 3, which was introduced by the State Government in 2013.
He said this zone allowed the use of land for a medical centre and child care centre, subject to receiving a planning permit.
Neighbours opposed to the development have set up a Facebook group called Save Balwyn Rd to fight the proposal.
Public submissions on the plan, which involves partial demolition of the existing building, close on October 25.