One of Wagga's most historic homes would be transformed into a six-day-a-week, extended-hours childcare centre under a plan lodged with the city's council.
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A development application for alterations and additions to the existing Foxborough Hall residence on Hardy Avenue was lodged last week, with developers also seeking approval to change the use of the Central Wagga site.
The application seeks approval to extend the exterior of the existing building and amend its internal layout so it can be used a childcare facility, which would be called the Foxborough Hall Early Learning Centre.
The plans for the $792,000 makeover, submitted by experienced childcare operator Ben Dransfield, reveal the centre would cater for 72 children between the ages of zero to six years.
Mr Dransfield said they had been carefully planning the application for the past 12 months.
"Being able to adapt and reuse an old home such as the Foxborough Hall into a modern early learning facility is quite amazing, as the educational programme can be carried out in a very nurturing home style environment implemented by highly qualified staff," he said.
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Mr Dransfield said the operational hours, which will be between 6.30am and 6pm Monday to Saturday, were crafted after consultation with the nearby Calvary Hospital and also the Royal Australia Air Force.
"The hours of operation ... will provide greater access to childcare around their shift times and service the extended local community," he said.
The proposal also involves new landscaping works, which would include the construction of an outdoor play area and the reduction of the size of the site's current car park.
"Having an abundance of natural outdoor play areas will allow us to create a vegetable garden and a citrus orchard where the children can explore and develop their interest in the outdoor environment," Mr Dransfield said.
"We sincerely hope that we will have the support of the council to create a unique and beautiful early learning centre in a home that is steeped with history."
Mr Dransfield said the proposal was to preserve the historic building.
"Should our application be successful, we will pay respect to the home's history and name the centre Foxborough Hall Early Learning Centre," he said.
Pedestrian access would be from Hardy Avenue via a pedestrian walkway through the carpark.
Three internal playrooms would be located on the ground floor, with two bathroom areas for the children as well as two nappy changing stations.
The first floor of the building would contain the administration and management part of the centre, with stair access from the ground floor. The upper level would not be used by children.
Foxborough Hall has been well-known as a distinguished residence for almost as long as the city has existed. A number of prominent Wagga identities and families have called the location home.
Thomas Fox, a wealthy hotelier, built the original Foxborough Hall residence - a brick building with two wings - in 1857 and named it after his wife's parents' home in Ireland.
Fox died in 1859 and the property changed hands several times until it was bought by James Gormly, a former Wagga mayor, in 1882.
The original residence was destroyed by a fire, said to have been sparked by a burst kerosene lamp, in February 1887 and Gormly rebuilt it on the same location in 1893.
The property remained in the Gormly family until the residence and an adjoining 20 acres of land was sold to the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary in 1926.
The Sisters established a temporary private hospital in the residence while the nearby Lewisham Hospital (now known as the Calvary Riverina Hospital) was built.
The residence also operated as 13 small flats for some time before being bought by Doctor Paul Latimer, who transformed it into medical consulting rooms.
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