A second early learning centre is planned for Creswick as demand continues to increase for childcare in the growing community.
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The new $800,000 centre is proposed to be built at 135 Napier Street, near Creswick Police Station and about 40m from Albert Street.
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According to a Victoria University study released last year the Creswick-Clunes area, along with most areas outside of Ballarat, is a 'childcare desert' where demand far outweighs the number of childcare places available.
Deserts and Oases: How Accessible is Childcare in Australia found that regions with lower access to childcare also had lower levels of workforce participation for women who have a child aged under five years.
There is currently only one childcare centre in the town, with before and after school care offered at school-based services.
The new childcare centre in Creswick is proposed to house 80 children in six activity rooms with a outdoor play areas to the side and rear.
The block currently contains a house which would be demolished to make way for the new centre.
Planning documents currently advertised through Hepburn Shire show the centre will be largely single storey, with wide gables to shade windows, set well back from Napier Street with a small portion of the building constructed as a two-storey above the lobby area.
"The pitched gable roof profile responds to the prevailing character of the neighbourhood. The building will primarily be finished in a mixture of metal panel, aluminium timber-look and brick cladding with significant portions of clear glazing," the report states.
"The overall colour palette includes a mixture of natural and muted tones. As is common practice with childcare centre developments in residential areas, a noise attenuation (acoustic) fence will be installed adjacent to any sensitive interfaces."
A 3m x 1.5m sign will be fixed to the centre's front wall, more than 17m back from the road, and there has been no application for roadside signage.
Developers said the centre would provide "a much sought after community service in an easily accessible location" near the established Creswick town centre.
Parents and staff will access the centre from Napier Street via two new crossovers, allowing the car park to operate in a one-way fashion and minimising potential traffic hazards.
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While the proposed childcare centre has a requirement to provide 17 car spaces, developers have applied for a parking dispensation to provide 14 as there is significant, under-used on-street parking at the site.
"We are satisfied that the anticipated peak off-site car parking demand generated by the proposed development can be adequately accommodated by nearby public car spaces without any discernible impact on nearby parking conditions," traffic engineers stated in their report.
It is anticipated there would be no more than 35 in or out vehicle movements from parents or staff during the morning and afternoon peak hours.
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