In the biggest development Gunnedah has seen in the early childhood sector, more than 240 new places will ease the shire's demand for child care, with two builds and an expansion on the horizon.
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Li'l Achievers Early Learning Centre will add 48 places, and new centres, Puggles and Imagine Childcare, will offer 194 places between them.
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Imagine Childcare is coming along quickly at 85 Stock Road, and the Brisbane developer Australian Childcare Solutions (ACS) hopes it will be open by spring.
Puggles at 15 Warrabungle Street was originally expected to open this month, but delays mean work is ongoing and it may be a few months before it is staff-ready.
Meanwhile, local owners of existing centre, Li'l Achievers, Richard and Brooke Patriquin, say their expansion should be completed by April.
The new building will sit alongside the existing centre on Bloomfield Street and is being purpose-built for babies and toddlers.
Mrs Patriquin said the plan to expand for the second time had been years in the making.
"The new centre is focused on 0-3 year-olds, which is the need in Gunnedah. The reason we did that was to fill the need," he said.
The Patriquins will also renovate the original child care building they started off with in 2015, and Mrs Patriquin said she had "no doubts" about the centre's future.
"We're really excited about it and our staff are great. It's a really good feeling and everyone loves coming to work," she said.
"We're very excited about the future of Li'l Achievers."
Up town, the Imagine Childcare centre is taking shape and ACS director Darren Jonsson says the build should be finished by mid-year.
Mr Jonsson said once the building was ready to go, the tenant, Imagine Childcare, would have about six weeks to furnish it and then the Department of Education would assess it for occupancy approval.
The director said there would be 24 places for ages 0-2, 30 places for ages 2-3, and 40 places for ages 3 and up.
Originally, ACS was considering building a centre in Tamworth, but after researching the area, discovered Gunnedah was "crying out for child care", so the company shifted its focus.
During meetings with Gunnedah Shire Council and Gunnedah's business chambers, Mr Jonsson said the company was told that the town's growth was being negatively affected by lack of child care places.
"We were getting a very consistent message of shortage, so we decided to contract this site near [Gunnedah South Public] School," he said.
Over at Puggles, spokesperson for Moore Development Group, Lisa Rochfort, said it was "ridiculous" that there was a six to 12 month waiting list for child care and it affected the choices of parents.
"It's always got to be demand-driven, but I think it's important that parents have choice, rather than necessity ... parents should feel they have the choice of the best childcare to put their child into," she said.
This is why Ms Rochfort says Puggles will kick off when it is ready, not before.
"We have to find the right staff. Even if we're ready to open, we won't open until we have staff we're very comfortable with," she said.
"I think that's when you can afford to put standards before business, and that's a philosophy we're very comfortable with.
"This is a very long-term venture. It's something we want to get right from the start."
Puggles isn't far off completion and Ms Rochfort said the final fit-out should be finished by the end of the month.
Millions has been spent on the centre, which will feature unique commissioned Australian art works that are "inspiring and authentic".
"Part of our vision is for children to grow up with authenticity of expression ... all children have got their own ideas and I think it's really important to foster that," Ms Rochfort said.
"It's one of the reasons why we've chosen to spend quite a lot of money on a colourful and a very expressive environment. If a child feels comfortable, learning is made easier."
A number of new centres are also being built in Tamworth to meet the growing child care shortage.
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