A Footscray childcare centre was supposedly shut due to poor patronage and low building quality, according to a confidential Maribyrnong council report.
Empire Street Early Learning Centre closed just before Christmas despite protests from families who used it.
The confidential report that recommended its closure, given to Maribyrnong councillors last July and kept secret until after the doors had permanently closed, condemned the “poorly performing asset’ as “at the end of its useful life, with little to no potential for redevelopment”.
It cited low demand for the service and noted data from centre manager Early Childhood Management Services (ECMS) that the service was at 79 per cent capacity at the time of the report.
The report was based on a 2014 council study of four council-owned centres that provide long day care, kindergarten and maternal and child health services.
It stated the redeveloped Maribyrnong River Children’s Centre and Church Street Children’s Centre at West Footscray will provide 83 extra childcare places, replacing the 35 places lost at the Empire Early Learning Centre.
“The only option … was to close the services based at Empire Early Learning Centre,” it stated.
It recommended redeveloping Church Street Children’s Centre, Maribyrnong River Children’s Centre and the Yarraville Community Kindergarten/Norfolk Children’s Centre to meet current and future demand.
“Through Council’s Capital Works Program along with $700,000 in funding from the Department of Education, Maribyrnong River Children’s Centre is now at practical completion stage while Church Street Children’s Centre works will commence in July 2016 with completion currently forecast for January 2017,” the report stated.
But the trouble-plagued Church Street redevelopment has since stalled, and there is no date set for its eventual completion.
Two attachments to the report have remained confidential.
