Future uncertain for iconic Crows Nest childcare centre Kelly’s Place

As Crows Nest expands, one of its oldest community childcare centres, Kelly’s Place, is at risk of being pushed out.

What happened: Kelly’s Place has operated along Hume Street since 1988, hard to miss with its signature red and yellow signage. 

As North Sydney Council looks to introduce more open space to the Crows Nest and St Leonards area, the area the centre occupies – on a council subsidised lease – has been marked for an expanded park.

What makes it special? The Kelly’s Place centre runs on a not-for-profit, community model. This means the governing body of the centre is a committee made up of both parents and carers.

• According to the centre’s committee president Richard Boyle, it is “a childcare environment where families feel confident their children are cared for by educators who truly value their growth and safety, without profit as the dominant motive.”

The development: Expanding Hume Street Park into a larger open space area has been a long term goal of North Sydney Council, with concept plans of the development dating back to 2012. 

• The first part of that plan was completed in 2022, with the area connecting Willoughby Road and Hume Street.

• According to those on the daycare committee, the survival of the childcare centre has always been assured. 

• “We have always had the reassurance that if the development was to proceed, that councils would source a suitable alternative premise”, vice president Anna Field said in a Monday council meeting.

What changed: The allure of state government funding, reserved for TOD precincts such as Crows Nest, is pushing council to move quickly. 

• TOD (Transport Oriented Development) precincts are areas that have been rezoned by the state government to boost housing supply near major transport hubs.

At the council meeting on Monday evening, a motion recommending council pursue a state grant to fund the Hume Street Park project was brought forward. 

Alongside that, it recommended the council broaden its search for the centre’s new home, “including but not limited to relocation to private property, consideration of smaller operations and smaller premises.”

Parents still worried: Though the motion also included an extension of the centre’s current lease for 12 months while suitable options are sought out, parents are concerned that’s not enough time. 

Field, speaking to the council chambers, requested an extension of the lease by 24 months, in order to “avoid closing the centre prematurely and provide some certainty for families and staff.”

What now: When asked whether an extension of 24 months was feasible, General Manager Therese Cole stated that the move could jeopardise council’s pursuit of state funding. 

Maintenance costs of the site, which falls under councils responsibility, are another motivating factor. 

• Council reports state the building is “fast approaching physical obsolescence” and has accrued more than $200,000 worth of repairs and maintenance in the last two years.

Councillors voted unanimously to support the motion, with amendments to establish a relocation working group with the centre, and write to the state government for support in their relocation.