City of Stonnington joins WCCC in closure fight

The City of Stonnington joined State and Federal political leaders at a site tour and media event to jointly advocate to save Windsor Community Children’s Centre (WCCC).

The loss of WCCC, which serves 80 local families, would have a profound impact on the local community, especially amid growing demand for early years services in the area, the City believes.

The land at 131-133 Union Street, Windsor Victoria is currently owned and managed by Swinburne University of Technology and contains a childcare centre, currently leased to WCCC.

The Victorian government donated the land occupied by the childcare centre to the university in 2013, however WCCC has occupied the space since 1997. 

Speaking with The Guardian, Swinburne said it was obliged to sell the land because it is no longer operating in the area, having closed its Prahran campus, and that it had offered it to the state, federal and local governments.

When there were no takers, Swinburne asked the Victorian government to change the planning provisions for the low-rise site to allow up to five storeys, which it said would help facilitate the sale.

The Victorian planning minister, Sonya Kilkenny, is yet to make a decision on the rezoning application, but received independent advice from the government land standing advisory committee on the matter in December.

The application was opposed by Stonnington council, which estimates the land is valued at between $12.2m to $13.8m.

“Council, unfortunately, is not in a position by itself to save the centre”, Deputy mayor, Tom Humphries, said.

“That’s why we’re calling on the state and federal governments to come to the table and deliver a funding solution to help protect this great community asset.”

The Council, he continued, is dedicated to ensuring that WCCC remains at its current location, continuing to provide high-quality early years services for the community. Council has objected to the section of the site where WCCC is based being rezoned and is exploring options to jointly purchase the site with other levels of Government.

“We are optimistic that we can find a solution with State and Federal Government colleagues for this important community site,” Councillor Humphries noted.