Panel refuses Leach Highway childcare proposal in Willagee

Kristie Lim, Melville Gazette (PerthNow), August 19, 2021

Plans for a childcare centre on busy Leach Highway in Willagee have been rejected in part because of concerns over air pollution and children’s health and safety.

The Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel unanimously refused the application on Tuesday after advice from City of Melville planners.

The panel believed the location was inappropriate and air quality characteristics at the site had not been properly addressed.

Town planners Planning Solutions had proposed demolishing the buildings at 79 and 81 Leach Highway to make way for a single-storey Sonas early learning centre, with five indoor activity rooms, two outdoor play areas and 17 carbays.

Its senior associate Josh Watson described the proposal as consistent with planning framework and said the development would have provided further investment in the area.

Panel presiding member Clayton Higham said Leach Highway was much busier and a different proposition to Canning Highway, where childcare centres have won favour in the past.

Another panel member John Syme said it was not a good location for a childcare centre because of the air pollution and the larger play area facing the highway.