New childcare centre for Warrnambool to open doors in late 2024

The BNAA Group has been working hard to progress the development on Dales Road, a spokesman told The Standard.

"We've been working incredibly hard for nearly two years now," the spokesman said.

"We got hit by COVID - like everyone else - and the council was also undermanned. Most of that seems to have remedied itself now."

The spokesman said the BNAA Group had owned and operated 15 childcare centres across Victoria in the past 20 years.

The group saw a need for additional childcare in Warrnambool, he said.

"We identify where there is a need for childcare before we even look at the prospect of building and operating a childcare centre.

"We identified Warrnambool as being somewhere where there was very high demand for child care."

The spokesman said the group had been talking to a number of organisations, including South West Healthcare.

He said there were a number of organisations which were struggling to recruit staff due to the lack of available spots in the city.

"The centre will have 150 places, so it's a pretty large centre," the spokesman said.

"Hopefully it will meet the demand when it opens."

The spokesman said the group was in the process of putting out the project to tender.

"We're hoping to get the tender documents out for quote to build the centre in the next week," the spokesman said.

"We're very excited about that."

The spokesman said it was hoped building would begin in September.

He said he believed it would take 12 months to complete.

"We're hoping to open in the second half of 2024," the spokesman said.

The Standard has reported on the city's childcare crisis in recent months.

Unprecedented demand and a shortage of childcare workers has left hundreds of people on waiting lists.

Some families have been on waiting lists for more than two years, The Standard reported last year.

IN OTHER NEWS

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: