150-place service in Warrnambool may help to meet regional demand, developers say

The BNAA Group has signalled that it intends to build a 150-place early childhood education and care (ECEC) service in Warrnambool, Victoria, in a bid to alleviate some of the pressure experienced by families and employers in the region who are suffering because of a lack of ECEC places. 

A spokesperson for the group said the project would soon go out to tender to source a builder and attain quotes, something the group is “very excited” about. 

BNAA hopes construction will begin in September, with the building ready for occupation 12 months from then. 

Land for the development is on Dales Road, and BNAA has been working “incredibly hard for nearly two years now,” the spokesman shared with local media.

“We got hit by COVID – like everyone else – and the Council was also undermanned. Most of that seems to have remedied itself now.”

The BNAA Group is not new to the ECEC space, having owned and operated 15 ECEC services across Victoria in the past 20 years, identifying Warrnambool as a place where more support is needed. 

“We identify where there is a need for childcare (sic.) before we even look at the prospect of building and operating a centre,” the spokesperson explained, noting that there have been conversations with a number of local businesses and organisations, including South West Healthcare, about the impact of a lack of ECEC options. 

Through those conversations, the Group learned a number of local employers are having challenges in filling vacancies, in part due to a lack of spaces in existing ECEC options in the area. 

To read the original coverage of this story, please see here.