More than 90 new long day care places will be available in Horsham by the end of the year under a Horsham Rural City Council plan to ease the Wimmera's severe childcare shortage.
Mayor Robyn Gulline said rooms at Kalkee Road Children's and Community Hub would become available for long day care when current tenant Emerge Early Learning Services shifted its kindergarten program to a new Horsham North facility.
"Emerge Early Learning Services has secured funding for a new two-room kindergarten to be located at the Rasmussen Road school site. This means there will be an opportunity for Council to host a much needed long day care provider at the Hub," she said.
"The new long day care program at the Hub should be operational by 2024 at the latest," Cr Gulline said.
Cr Gulline said there were at least 215 individual children on the waiting lists of Horsham's four long day care centres.
She said access to child care could be a deciding factor in how long families stayed in the area.
"The inability to return to work or to move to Horsham to take up skilled positions disadvantage our whole community, putting businesses and services under further pressure to find suitable staff. Our shortage of long day care provision also disadvantages women unfairly.
"By reverting Kalkee Road Children's and Community Hub to the original design and use, which was for long day care and in venue kindergarten, an additional 93 new long day care places can be made available."
"That's very good news for not only young families but also many Wimmera businesses," Cr Gulline said.
Council will soon invite expressions of interest from providers to run the new long day care and all-day kindergarten program. Maternal and Child Health Services and Supported Playgroup will continue to operate from the Hub.
