Toowoomba childcare centre planned for large parcel of land in Glenvale

A new childcare centre to cater for nearly 100 people has been proposed for Toowoomba’s fastest-growing area. Here’s how it will look:

One of Toowoomba’s fastest-growing suburbs could be getting a new childcare centre on a longstanding plot of under-utilised land.

An 86-child, 680 sqm facility has been proposed for two-hectare site on Glenvale Road in Glenvale by developer David Yu.

Along with the childcare centre, the application also includes a plan to subdivide the land to create a new parcel for the new use and demolish the existing structures.

According to the report by Precinct Urban Planning, the purpose-built single-storey facility will include indoor and outdoor play areas catering for children from birth to five years old.

“The centre will cater for up to 86 children ranging in age from 0 to five years and will employ 14 full-time equivalent staff, including 12 full-time staff and 6 part-time staff (equating to 2 FTE positions),” the report said.

“The existing dwelling house and ancillary structures will be removed to facilitate the proposed development.

“The proposed child care centre will consist of a purpose-built childcare building, outdoor play areas as well as servicing and vehicle manoeuvring/parking areas.”

More than 30 car parks have been included with the proposal.

The council has yet to respond to the application.

Glenvale and western Toowoomba is one of the region’s fastest-growing areas, with 24,000 people expected to live there by 2031.

There is also a projected need for childcare in the area, with the Mitchell Institute’s 2022 Childcare Deserts and Oases report suggesting there were half as many vacant spaces at current centres in western Toowoomba as there were children.

There are currently about a dozen childcare centres across Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, worth more than 1000 places, either proposed, approved or under construction.