Windsor Community Children’s Centre continues push to stay in light of imminent eviction 

A preschool which has proudly supported the children and families of its community for nearly 50 years is “remaining hopeful” that it will be able to find a solution allowing it to continue its legacy of learning in light of an upcoming eviction. 

Windsor Community Children’s Centre has operated in Melbourne’s inner south for 47 years, however after the withdrawal of Swinburne University from the site occupied by the service, and the service being unable to purchase the $12 million site from the university, an eviction is imminent. 

The preschool community has appealed to its local council and to the Victorian Government for support, however the Victorian Department of Education has stated that it will not contribute to the purchase of the land “because it could better support kindergarten access through other centres.”

“I understand that will be a disappointment to the Windsor Community Children’s Centre board and supporters,” the department said in a letter to the kinder, obtained by local news source The Sunday Age.

“Ultimately, the Victorian government’s responsibility is to ensure the best use of available funding to support kindergarten places. In this case, this is best achieved through other options in the Prahran Windsor area.”

Windsor Community Children’s Centre is a small community run service which offers both long day care and kindergarten programs, leasing its premises from the university, which has determined that the site “is now surplus to its requirements.”

The university has given the kinder – which services up to 80 families – notice to vacate the site it has occupied since 1997. The centre has said it has no chance of securing a new building in the area, where land values are soaring.

In previous communications the university indicated that the property was offered to state and local governments – in accordance with the “first refusal” protocols for disposal of state-owned land – but there were no takers.

The Council has previously stated that it cannot afford to buy the site and had been exploring options to jointly purchase it with other levels of government. With the service being located in the state seat of Prahran, and the marginal federal seat of Macnamara, the future of the service has become a political issue ahead of the yet to be announced federal election. 

Politicians on all sides of governance have urged the university to drop its bid to rezone and sell the land, with The Greens announcing a $12 million pledge to save the centre, one that would ultimately require the state government’s approval.

A Stonnington Council spokesperson said it supported the Windsor Community Children’s Centre staying on the site until it was developed by a future buyer. The council said it would work with the state government to ensure children had access to high-quality early education.

Access the original coverage of this story here.