A North Tamworth community will soon find out whether their protests against the development of a new childcare centre were enough to stop the project as it heads to council for final approval.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Residents of Gorman Street have been arguing for more than a year that the narrow stretch of road just north of the Northgate shopping centre is too small to support the increased traffic the childcare centre would bring.
The public outcry has been enough to put the project's Development Application (DA) on council's agenda, and its future is uncertain as two councillors said they are "reluctant" to support the development at council's last meeting.
The community sent in more than three dozen public submissions and a petition in an effort to get Tamworth Regional Council to kill the development, but a report on the project's DA going to councillors at their next meeting recommends giving the proposed childcare centre the green light.
Most submissions were concerned with traffic and safety, though some also raised issues ranging from noise and overshadowing, to property values and utility usage.
![Gorman Street residents rallied to protest the new development in May, saying it would ruin their street's "quiet" environment. Picture by Gareth Gardner Gorman Street residents rallied to protest the new development in May, saying it would ruin their street's "quiet" environment. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200003594/24599996-e6d6-4731-aeb9-f4bc8b4b4487.jpg/r0_0_1010_678_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The report says the issues raised by the community "have been addressed" by the project's applicant and by investigations from council's own staff.
A council investigation of the proposed project's traffic impacts concluded the childcare centre "will not result in unacceptable traffic and parking impacts on the amenity of neighbouring properties".
The report also said the DA has been significantly re-worked since its initial design was revealed in June last year to better suit the size of Gorman Street.
"The medical centre component has been removed from the proposal. The child care centre capacity has also reduced from 105 to 100 places and the onsite carpark has increased from 21 to 25 spaces," the report says.
READ ALSO:
If approved, the town house and adjacent shed on 7-9 Gorman Street will be torn down and replaced with a 1857 square metre, two-storey child care centre designed to accommodate up to 100 children from the ages of 0 - 5 years.
The road to construction has been meticulously mapped out by council staff, with nearly 89 conditions to be imposed on the DA's applicant should council give them the go-ahead.
Some of those restrictions include providing residents five days' notice before construction begins and submitting a traffic management plan for both vehicular and pedestrian movements.
![The proposed site for the childcare centre on Gorman Street is currently home to an older-style town house. File picture by Peter Hardin The proposed site for the childcare centre on Gorman Street is currently home to an older-style town house. File picture by Peter Hardin](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200003594/a0d1acd1-1a22-43b1-8815-c8f440589718.jpg/r0_0_1200_675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The applicant will also need to pay council more than $50,000 to conduct water and sewage works, as well as a community contribution of $23,187.17 to "cater for the increased demand for community infrastructure resulting from the development".
Once the centre is built the applicant will also need to develop a management plan that covers arrival and departure procedures, security and safety, traffic and parking, noise management, and day to day operations.
The management plan will also require the applicant to "discourage visitor and staff parking on Gorman Street" to prevent traffic bottlenecks on the eight-metre-wide road, according to the council report.
Once constructed, the facility is expected to be run by 17 staff with operating hours between 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday.
![Arial view of the proposed childcare centre based at 7-9 Gorman Street in North Tamworth. Picture supplied by Tamworth Regional Council Arial view of the proposed childcare centre based at 7-9 Gorman Street in North Tamworth. Picture supplied by Tamworth Regional Council](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200003594/61c61fa7-1637-4652-8a76-102a66568bc5.png/r0_0_584_514_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Council has also taken pre-emptive steps to improve traffic flow on Gorman Street with the approval of new signage and line markings
The council's investigation of traffic along Gorman Street concluded the "quiet" residential area currently has a peak traffic flow of about 27 vehicles moving through it per hour.
If the childcare centre goes ahead, that figure is expected to more than quadruple during drop-off and pick-up times, maxing out at an estimated 115 vehicles per hour.
The new development would also require the removal of 19 "mature" trees, the council report says, though these would later be replaced by an equal number of smaller trees around the property's perimeter.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News