State planners approve Burns Beach long day care despite residents objections

The Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel has approved a $2.5 million Burns Beach long day care (LDC) service despite claims from local residents that it does not meet the requirements for a retail precinct. 

Central to concerns of residents is the inclusion in the service design of a ‘cafe window’ through which a small takeaway cafe can be accessed, open to both users of the service as well as the wider community. 

The plans outline that the cafe will operate in peak drop off and pick up hours on weekdays between 6.30am-9am and 3.30pm-6.30pm.

A similar service was proposed for the site in 2021, and was refused when the local council determined that it was “not compatible with the objectives of the suburb’s structure plan” due to it not including a retail/commercial precinct and not catering for the daily needs of the community.

Owners Fares Raji Wahhab & Catalonia Investments Pty Ltd will construct the service at 44-46 Grand Ocean Entrance after only one objection to the development was put forward by City of Joondalup councillor Rebecca Pizzey.

The 877 sqm land is vacant and surrounded by homes and opposite Bengello Park. Once the two-storey service is completed it will educate and care for 57 children on weekdays from 6.30am-6.30pm.

It will have three activity areas and two outdoor play areas, with two of the activity areas and one outdoor play area on the upper floor.

Public consultation for the development was not well-received, with 159 submissions against and 25 in favour. Burns Beach Residents Association committee member Lars Rasmussen said the outcome was a surprising one, with residents anticipating a corner store or deli to be built on the site. 

He described the cafe as being insufficient for the community’s needs. The location of the service, near a busy road, was also a point of concern. 

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