YMCA holds grave concerns for children's safety from development being built next door to Gungahlin centre

Geocon and Empire Global has plans to build 290 apartments and commercial premises, dubbed The Establishment, next to the YMCA Canberra Gungahlin childcare centre on the corner of Gozzard Street and Gundaroo Drive.

YMCA Canberra chief executive Torrien Lau said the childcare centre would share a narrow driveway with the development and this would post an "untenable risk" to the children of the centre.

"It's a very small driveway, the roads in Gungahlin are notoriously narrow. Our driveway is no different," he said.

"It's hard for two cars to pass side-by-side in that driveway and the number of vehicles that would pass out our front door, given our 84 children going in and out of the centre everyday it's just something that we cannot accept."

YMCA Canberra met with the developers last week to discuss the shared driveway. Mr Lau said the organisation had presented four alternatives. These included that Geocon and Empire Global move the access point for either their development or the childcare centre, a parallel driveway to be built or the developers could buy the centre's site. An agreement could not be reached.

In response to questions from The Canberra Times, Geocon director Nick Georgalis did not directly address the alternatives but said the driveway had already been approved in a previous application and was not up for consideration.

The application currently open for public consultation is for amendments.

"The access point of the driveway was resolved in the original DA submission. The DA amendments submitted are minor in nature and do not steer far away from the original submission," he said.

"We are always open to talk to our neighbours to help through the process of delivery and look forward to working closely with them to try and minimise the disruption to their operations."

Empire Global had originally received development approval to build 270 apartments in 2018. But last year Geocon was brought onto the project in a joint venture between the developers.

The amended application would see an increase in apartments, as well as more commercial tenancies added to the ground floor. A pool and spa would be added as well as design changes to the facade.

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YMCA Canberra was against the original proposal by Empire Global, its prime objection was against children's privacy which it said would violate the UN Convention against the rights of the child.

Mr Lau said the new application addressed some of the historical concerns, but not all, and the addition of extra commercial tenancies would affect the shared driveway.

"The change of the entire ground floor going into commercial tenancies that type of potential increased traffic play but particularly also, the entry and exist of trucks through the driveway means that truck blocks off that entire driveway," he said.

"The truck can't even do a U-turn, it actually has to back into the driveway, nobody can get into it or get out of it.

"I would hate to be a delivery driver knowing the risk and trying to double park and deliver goods at the same time."

Mr Lau has written to Planning Minister Mick Gentleman, Education Minister Yvette Berry and Minister for Children Rachel Stephen-Smith about the development.

In the letter, he asked the ministers to block the amendment and also said he feared the "serious injury or death of a child".

"It is our belief that this development in its proposed amended form presents a significant risk to the children in our care in this area," the letter said.

"We hold real fear that it will lead to Canberra's first 'urban development-related death of a child' in our community at an early learning centre'."

Mr Georgalis said safety would be a paramount concern.

"Geocon take the safety of our employees, workers on site, neighbours and pedestrians very seriously," he said.

"Their safety and wellbeing are always a consideration with every step of the process. This delivery will be treated with the utmost consideration for all."