A CLEVELAND child care centre and kindergarten has made an impassioned plea to Redland City Council to save its playground.
The St James Lutheran Community Kindergarten and Childcare centre said there was a proposal in the draft city plan to re-zone council land the centre uses for a playground.
If the land is re-zoned for commercial use, the centre said its future would be in jeopardy as developers would want to buy the site.
The centre, which has operated at the Waterloo Street address for 42 years, asked council in March to upgrade its permit to occupy and grant it a permanent lease.
Vice president of the centre's management committee Fran Wilson said there were legitimate concerns the 600sq m block would be re-zoned and then transferred to council’s Redland Investment Corporation and sold.
She said if that happened, the centre would be forced to scale back operations and cut back 12 positions from its child care centre.
"Under best practice guidelines, which dictate 9sq m per child, we would be forced to cut back 12, which would not be viable for us to continue," she said.
“Without a permanent lease, the centre cannot apply for grants to upgrade the playground.
"We'd heard there was pressure on the council to sell from a developer who owns the surrounding blocks."
RIC chief executive Peter Kelley told the centre council was assessing its surplus land and would act in accordance with the best interests of the council.
Mr Kelley also suggested the centre could buy the land or pay commercial rates and lease it.
A council spokesman said there had been no decision made to sell the land, which was still in the ownership of council and had not been transferred to the Redland Investment Corporation.
“It is premature to suggest there are plans to sell it,” the officer said.
“Council is asking the community to provide feedback through the draft City Plan on any proposed rezoning of public owned land and will take on board this feedback.
“Even if the land is rezoned, it is quite possible that council could continue the current use of the land.
“Child care centres are an important part of the Redlands community and we want this centre to remain open so it can service the city and we will continue to speak with the current land users and will take their feedback on board.”
The centre leases the Waterloo Street premises, which includes two buildings, from the Lutheran Church and insures, fences and maintains the council land.
Ms Wilson said the community kindy and child care centre was run by a volunteer parent management committee and was a not-for-profit organisation that could not afford to pay commercial rates to lease the land.
Cleveland councillor Craig Ogilvie said after 42 years the centre had a stake in the site and council should consdier favourable the request to lease the land.
He said re-zoning the block had divided council but suggested submissions about the re-zoning during the City Plan 2015 public consultation may make a difference to the outcome.
The deadline for all submissions is November 27.