Childcare boost for northern suburbs
Another 120 much-needed childcare places will be made available in Adelaide’s northern suburbs by June next year with the construction of a new child care centre as part of the Playford Alive urban renewal project.
The child care centre at Munno Para West will be built by Stepping Stone Child Care and Early Development Centres on a 2,800 square metre site, purchased from the State Government's Land Management Corporation, located adjacent to the new Birth to Year 12 Mark Oliphant College under construction on Newton Boulevard.
Housing Minister Jennifer Rankine said the site was ideally situated for families from Munno Para West and the surrounding suburbs.
“The Playford Alive project is about building communities with easy access to essential services like health, employment and schools, and this latest development will enable more parents to access high quality childcare,” she said.
“Access to childcare can be a major stumbling block for many parents wanting to return to work and a major part of the Playford Alive project’s urban renewal of the northern suburbs is ensuring local people can access the support services they need to enable them to gain employment.
“Playford Alive is rejuvenating the northern suburbs by providing the essential infrastructure and services that are so vital to sustaining communities.
“The development is attracting many young families with its affordability and access to essential services, and when completed this child care centre will form a crucial part of the community.”
Stepping Stone Child Care and Early Development Centres is anticipated to commence construction of the proposed facility in November this year, with completion and centre opening planned for June 2011.
The company was formed in November 2006 and operates 12 centres through Adelaide. Stepping Stone is 100% South Australian owned, and has a strong focus on delivering high quality child care services to the local community.
George Skrembos, Managing Director of Stepping Stone described the site purchase as confirmation of the company’s belief in the Playford Alive project and ongoing commitment to high quality service delivery.
“We are proud to be associated with this dynamic project, and look forward to building strong relationships with the people of Playford through the delivery of this essential service,” he said.
The childcare centre development resulted from an Expression of Interest campaign that LMC ran for a number of commercial / community development sites at the end of 2009.
