New life for vacant Greenparkes site

What was once the former Greenparkes Garden Centre and Cedar Cafe are now no more with its demolition making way for the construction of a new motel and childcare centre. The site on the corner of Forbes Road and Medlyn Street that's been vacant for a number of years will be subdivided between the two. The new motel, a single-story building with 22 rooms, is to occupy the front or western portion of the block next to Forbes Road, and the childcare centre will be built at the rear or eastern side nearest to Lawson Street. The motel development is proposed to cost $2,020,700 and will also include a private laundry, office and reception with a free-standing pylon sign, on-site manager facilities and 26 car parking spaces. The demolition of the old nursery and metal awnings, cafe, gardening barn, mulch/soil storage bays and internal brick fencing, which was given the green light from Parkes Shire Council in 2023, took place between October and December. A development application complete with site, floor, elevation and landscape plans for the motel was tabled and approved at council's 18 November monthly meeting. It was on public exhibition for the community prior, with council receiving no submissions or objections to the development. Council approved the childcare centre with about 20 car parking spaces and the two-lot subdivision of the land in July. During the 18 November meeting Deputy Mayor Marg Applebee asked if there was a time frame on the construction of the motel. "I know it has been sitting there for quite some time now and it's great to see something happening there finally. It's a fantastic space," Cr Applebee said. "But it'd be really lovely to know that there was sort of more intention rather than just a DA as well." Director of Planning and Community Services Annalise Teale told the meeting the original site is owned by a single developer who now has development consent to subdivide the lot and they're "very keen to progress". "They have a construction certificate currently submitted for the childcare centre and as I understand it they're proposed to lodge the construction certificate for the motel very soon, which often signifies that they're keen to start building very soon," she said.