Council documents do little to quell parents’ anger as much-loved Bassendean daycare’s sale looms

Angry parents of children enrolled at a council-run daycare in Bassendean say the release of documents aimed at shining light on the decision-making behind its attempted sale has muddied the waters even further.

Wind in the Willows has been operating at its Bassendean and Ashfield locations for more than 40 years and is one of the most popular and highly regarded centres in the area.

But parents were blindsided by a council decision to sell the Bassendean centre to private provider Cha Cha Cha Group and close the Ashfield facility, which was first made public in December despite discussions about the daycare’s viability and future starting in April 2025.

They have since mounted a community campaign, which has the backing of Labor MP Dave Kelly, urging the council to reverse its decision over concerns about losing the popular service utilised by about 200 families and questions on the lack of community consultation.

That campaign will come to a head this week, with the Town of Bassendean council considering a motion to reopen community consultation and extend it to May at a meeting on Tuesday night, and town staff and councillors expected to face a grilling by parents at a special electors’ meeting on Wednesday night.

Confidential documents released late last week included outcomes of several behind-closed-door council meetings last year, in which town officers detailed the dire state of finances of the facility, which would reach a nearly $400,000 operating deficit by the end of this year and expend much of the centres’ $450,000 surplus account.

The documents revealed officers eventually recommended the town sell the site to Cha Cha Cha Group for $2.5 million.

Emma Barrington, who attended the centre as a child and whose son now attends the centre, said the documents detailed the financial woes of the centre – but not why the town did nothing to rectify the situation.

“Essentially, in the confidential documents, they’re saying they’re in the red $300,000 to $400,000 in wages, and it just doesn’t stack up. They didn’t take steps to rectify. They’ve sort of just let it go on and on,” she said.

“There’s been no point in time where they’re saying, Look, can we rectify this? Can we resolve this? They’re just kind of saying it’s a black hole and we should sell and get rid of it without any community consultation, without any solutions and without any options.”

Barrington said Bassendean was a small council that did not offer as many resources as its larger neighbours and selling this centre would be one less community service on offer by the Town.

“For a small council such as Bassendean community services are very important, because we actually don’t have that many, we have to go outside the town to get those” she said.

“We don’t have a pool, we don’t have a creche, we have a very small library, we are diminishing the town’s community services.”

Kelly, the MP for the state electorate of Bassendean, took aim at the council’s pursuit of the project without community input, or input from staff and families.

“While the documentation is not complete it would appear that the process has been heavily influenced by a desire to gain the $2.5 million in cash from the sale to use of other unspecified projects,” he said.

“This is justified by a view that private childcare operators exist, and parents should be satisfied with that option.

“What is missing from all of the documents is any consideration or appreciation of the views of parents, families or the wider Bassendean community.”

Early Childhood Minister Sabine Winton said the state government had no ability to stop the sale of the childcare, but urged the council to consult with the community.

“While the state government doesn’t play an active role in providing childcare services directly, I urge the local council to carefully consult and communicate with the childcare centre and local community before making a final decision,” she said.

The town was approached for comment.

The documents reveal that in an April 2025 confidential meeting, officers first flagged Wind in the Willows was going to incur a deficit of $125,000 in 2025/26 “due to rising employment costs and lower occupancy levels than target”.

In December, the council was told that deficit had jumped to about $450,000.

“While it may be argued that an early childhood education service provided by a local government may provide an enhanced service, the fact is that in the case of Wind in the Willows, continued provision of the service at current levels is unsustainable financially,” a council report said.

“Consequently, should the town continue direct service provision, it will have no option but to operate the service commercially to ensure financial sustainability.

“In that case, there is likely to be little difference between the service provided and that of a ‘for-profit’ provider.”

In another report, the town noted the Wind in the Willows service accounted for about 30 per cent of the town’s total staffing costs.

Council will debate a motion at Tuesday’s meeting to reopen and extend community consultation until May 5.

“A substantial amount of community feedback has been received that the community consultation is too short and lacks transparency,” Councillor Kenneth John said in the motion.

“I have heard this feedback from residents, rate payers, those who use the service and those who do not, former mayors, councillors and members of parliament both Commonwealth and State.”

John has called for the vote on the sale, scheduled for April 9, to be delayed until after the extended community consultation.

Council officers noted the current consultation period was previously unanimously endorsed by the council, and that any extension made without the consent of the purchaser would make the current offer null and void.

They also said John’s citing of longer campaigns referred to matters that impacted the community as a whole.

“Whereas the current proposed disposal of WIW affects a smaller number of residents that are currently obtaining direct service provision via the council,” officers wrote in the meeting agenda.

“As this service will continue via a qualified and licensed provider under the same guidelines, the current time period combined with the Special Electors Meeting and a dedicated Special Council meeting is considered effective.”

The special electors’ meeting is being held on Wednesday at Swan Districts Football Club.

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