Southern View: December 17, 2020

6 Thursday December 17 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
SOUTHERN VIEW
‘There are only so many children in the area’
Jane Russell
• From page 1
Said Russell: “There’s just
a concern that the market is
absolutely saturated with preschools
now, we’re all getting the
same amount of money from the
Ministry; there are only so many
children in the area.
“We’re all very different and
offer different things, but the pool
you’re getting is much less than
what it was before.”
Currently, in
the RMA, a consent
authority
must not regard
trade competition
or its effects
when considering
new applications,
including
pre-schools.
Russell said
roll sizes at preschools nearby
have dropped, and not just because
of Covid-19.
Established 40 years ago,
Huntsbury Preschool used to
regularly reach their maximum
capacity of 30 children.
As a not-for-profit centre, any
proceeds go back into improving
the environment, learning
opportunities, updating cultural
resources and providing a high
teacher-to-child ratio.
Demand has been low in recent
years due to parents having more
OVERCROWDED: Huntsbury Preschool is concerned about the increasing number of
preschools in the area and says a limit needs to be put in place. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN ​
options to choose from, said
Russell.
“When I first started 23 years
ago, you could count the number
of centres on your hand,” she
said.
“We’re a small pre-school up
on the hill, we rely on the community.
I’d really like [council] to
consider applications for centres
and know how many there actually
are in this area.”
The RMA promotes the sustainable
management of natural
and physical resources, such as
land, air and water.
Community board chairwoman
Karolin Potter sympathised
with the centre’s concerns as it
was one of the only standalone
community-led services in the
area.
But she did not see how the
environment influenced who
could establish a childcare
facility.
“My heart breaks over this,
I don’t want this community
pre-school competed out of the
market,” she said.
“I can only imagine that having
no limit would be competing.
But in a democracy, we’re not in
a position to say to people that
they cannot develop a business,
or stop people from putting up a
child care.
“There’s nothing wrong
with being motivated by
commercial interests but the
children must come first, and
what can be done to support the
community.”
Higgins said the District Plan
does not control the location
of pre-schools regarding the
commercial impact on nearby
centres.
“Doing so would be problematic
under the Resource
Management Act as it specifically
seeks to avoid trade competition
arguments.
However, “it does seek to
protect centres from commercial
activities setting up outside
commercial zones. This doesn’t
apply to pre-schools as they are
provided for in residential and
other zones.”
A report will be presented
by city council staff at the next
board meeting, including advice
on existing consent requirements.
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