The Development Application for a 174 place child care facility at 29 Pitt Town Road Kenthurst which was refused by The Hills Shire Council is being brought before the Land and Environment Court by the applicant.
Proceedings have been listed for a section 34 conciliation conference on Monday, 7th September 2026.
Plans of the proposed building show that one of the entry/exit driveways is right on the bend of the road, making it a potential risk to oncoming traffic.
The property, which was previously owned by the Wrench family, one of the original orchardists in Kenthurst, covers an area of just under 2 acres.
The existing home building is currently listed as a heritage item (House-118) which means that the existing dwelling needs to remain highly identifiable within the development.
The proposed hours of operation will be 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 52 weeks of the year, except for public holidays and weekends. Parking for 70 cars, which will include staff and visitors. The child care centre will cater for children from 0-5 year olds.
The refusal by Council was based on many reasons, apart from residents objections.
Some of Council’s objections were:
• The proposal was considered to be an over development of the site as well as having an adverse impact on the surrounding trees and vegetation which would be detrimental to the rural and scenic character of the land.
• The development was inconsistent with the Child Care Planning Guidelines design and was not in keeping with the character of the area.
• The proposed development was likely to have an adverse impact on the significance of the heritage item and did not satisfy the Heritage Conservation of The Hills Local Environmental Plan requirements.
• Other factors taken into account were to do with storm water management, carparking & waste management.
• Finally the proposed development was not in the public interest or suitable for the site
Story credit: Kenthurst Community News