Ekidna Gunnedah School of Early Learning under construction, and second Tamworth centre in planning

Ekidna Tamworth School of Early Learning opened on Carthage Street in 2019, and now Sydney developer Moore Development Group is building a second local centre in Gunnedah to meet the incredibly high demand for childcare.

The group's general manager Nick Rickard said the Gunnedah centre on 15 Warrabungle Street at the old squash courts is currently halfway through construction and is due to open on January 1, 2022.

The cost of the project build is $1.4 million, with 100 spots for children available and 40 currently on the wait list.

Mr Rickard said they are expanding into more country areas, and have submitted a DA for a second centre in Tamworth.

"Our centre at Tamworth is pretty much 100 per cent full all the time, and it has a wait list as well," he said.

"In Gunnedah, my understanding is there are 750 places that are required and there's only 250 spaces at the moment.

"Along with one of the mines expanding, that's going to bring another 500 families into the area.

"So there's going to be increased demand well beyond what's been approved by the council anyway and what's under construction."

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Ekidna Tamworth Director Jenny Todd told The Leader the Carthage Street centre caters to 82 children a day and around 100 families in total.

"Our wait list is massive, huge, most of them are nursery toddler age, but so many families are on the wait list," she said.

"Anything to help with the amount of children on the wait list and families who can't get care is major," she said.

"We've even got existing staff who have had babies and we just can't fit their own children in for them to come back to work, let alone anyone else that needs to return to the workforce."

The developer is also behind the Ekidna Dee Why School of Early Learning in Sydney.

To join the Gunnedah wait list you can visit https://ekidnagunnedah.com.au/

News of Gunnedah's newest childcare centre comes after Brisbane developer Australian Childcare Solutions won approval to build the 94-child centre on Stock Road in April, on the site of the old Gunnedah Trinity Lutheran Church.

It also follows news of recent expansions on Li'l Achievers Gunnedah, who will soon be able to take on 128 kids at any one time.

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