Indigo Shire will negotiate a lease with Alpine Children's Services to occupy the Mayday Hills Beechworth Childcare and Kindergarten Centre from January 2026.
Council has accepted a recommendation to grant the lease to Alpine Children's Services following a comprehensive Expression of Interest process.
Five service providers responded to the EOI seeking a single provider to occupy the site for the provision of childcare and kindergarten services.
Council's decision means the current occupants, Beechworth Community Early Year's Learning Centre and Beechworth Kindergarten will need to transition from the site by the end of the year
Mayor Sophie Price says the EOI process has been extremely thorough and included a representative from the Department of Education on the assessment panel.
"We will support the current occupants through the transition period and work with the new provider to ensure minimal disruption to the children and their families," Mayor Price says.
A key component in the EOI process was for providers to address how their service offering will address and significantly reduce current waiting lists.
Alpine Children's services will initially offer 87 places across both childcare and kindergarten and plans to significantly expand and diversify their service offering to meet the needs of local families.
"We recognise that the decision is a significant change, however we are confident and excited that this new arrangement will be welcomed by our local community, in particular families who've been on the waiting list for an extended period." Mayor Price says.
CEO of Alpine Children's Services, Tanya Scott says, "We are delighted to be named as the preferred provider. The Board and executive of Alpine Children's Services plan to negotiate an agreement with Indigo Shire that recognises and supports the needs of local children and families, now and in the future.
As the largest provider of not-for-profit community kindergarten and early childhood education services in Alpine Shire, we are an experienced provider of integrated services, managing waiting lists and offering tailored programs that meet the needs of local families. We currently manage the centralised waiting list process for all kindergartens in Alpine Shire on behalf of Alpine Shire Council, so we are familiar with the processes to ensure all children are prioritised for a place in their preferred service."
While council is not responsible for issuing the license to operate childcare and kindergarten services, it does have a role to play in ensuring that community demand is met and that the Beechworth site which it leases from Mayday Hills Pty Ltd is appropriately used for childcare and kindergarten services.
