First glimpse at IC No. 2’s new 100 spot Gympie childcare centre

Plans have been unveiled to open a new childcare centre only 200m from where another proposed centre was recently rejected by the Gympie council.

Plans have been unveiled for a new 113 spot childcare centre at Tozer St, Gympie, near the Mary Valley Rattler.

Plans have been unveiled for a new childcare centre catering to more than 100 children not far from where another was rejected.

Brisbane-based developer IC No. 2 Pty Ltd wants to build the centre on vacant land within 100m of the historic Mary Valley Rattler station at Tozer St.

Their application says the centre, if approved, would be able to cater for 113 children and employ 19 staff.

The two-storey building will be split into seven rooms, with a car park and playground underneath.

It is intended to run 6.30am-6.30pm Monday to Friday.

They say the centre will address “the existing and anticipated demand” for additional childcare places in Gympie.

Developers IC No. 2 say the proposed centre, to be built at the corner of Tozer St and Tozer Park Rd will employ 19 staff.

The land is about 200m from where another proposed childcare centre was rejected by the council.

Developers Rosalind Corporate wanted to open an 83-spot centre at the corner of Tozer Park Rd and Sorrel St, opposite Gympie’s aquatic centre.

The proposal was rejected in the second half of 2020 by Gympie Regional Council following an outcry from childcare operators across the region.

They claimed the centre would make an already saturated market worse, especially with another centre only one block away – and less than 100m from where IC No. 2 wants to open theirs.

Fears about the impact of traffic were also raised in the objections.

Rosalind Corporate initially challenged the council’s rejection in the Planning and Environment Court, but in October 2021 the company discontinued the matter.

No reason was given for its withdrawal.

Originally published as First glimpse at IC No. 2’s new 100 spot Gympie childcare centre