State planners have approved a $2.5 million Burns Beach daycare centre with a cafe window despite claims from local residents that it does not meet the requirements for a retail precinct.
The development at 44-46 Grand Ocean Entrance was approved 4-1, with City of Joondalup councillor Rebecca Pizzey the sole objector at a Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel meeting last Thursday.
The 877sqm land is vacant and surrounded by homes and opposite Bengello Park.
Fares Raji Wahhab & Catalonia Investments Pty Ltd were listed as the owners of the two-storey childcare centre, which will operate weekdays 6.30am-6.30pm with a maximum of 57 children and 11 staff permitted on the premises at any one time.
It will have three activity areas and two outdoor play areas, with two of the activity areas and one outdoor play area on the upper floor.
The approval comes after a childcare premises was previously refused at the site in 2021. It was deemed by the council as not compatible with the objectives of the suburb’s structure plan due to it not including a retail/commercial precinct and not catering for the daily needs of the community.
However, the approved development includes a small takeaway cafe open to both users of the childcare and wider community. It is set to operate in peak drop-off and pickup hours on weekdays between 6.30am-9am and 3.30pm-6.30pm.
Public consultation for the development was not well-received, with 159 submissions against and 25 in favour.
Burns Beach Residents Association committee member Lars Rasmussen said the association was taken by surprise with the development as they were expecting a deli or corner shop.
He said the daycare’s cafe was not sufficient for the community, with the opportunity for such a shop now “departed” as the land was the last vacant block suitable for a retail premises in the suburb.
Mr Rasmussen said residents also held concerns for the safety of daycare users due to the high use of the road in peak hours and likelihood of parents parking across the road to drop their children off to daycare.
Owner and childcare development operator Rajai Wahhab said there was a major gap in the market and more childcares were needed.
He said the childcare would cater for children up to five years old and the cafe would boost a sense of community and interaction between parents and the public.
