Work can soon begin on a $1.1 million four-classroom Montessori preschool in West Bay after the Central Planning Authority granted approval.
Located on a 5.25-acre plot on Captain Reginald Parsons Drive, the facility will cater to children from 18 months to 6 years old living in West Bay and the Seven Mile Beach corridor.
The authority, in its decision, which was published on 27 April, wrote that the site is suitable for the educational development as there is sufficient infrastructure to support it.
“It will be able to serve the needs of the immediate and surrounding residential areas,” it said, adding that it received no public objections against the proposal.
Submitted plans showed that Montessori West will be built in two stages to meet demand, with 24 parking spaces, a long drop-off lane and a petting area with small animals.
Educators will use the Montessori method, which rejects formal teaching techniques and instead allows children to follow their natural interests with a focus on hands-on learning.
The authority said planning approval was granted subject to a number of conditions.
These included submitting a site plan, storm water management plan, landscape plan and construction operations plan as well as proof of surveyed site boundaries.
The developer must also follow several measures to protect the surrounding environment during the build.
Rabbits and baby goats
The plans for the new school were published in the 12 April planning meeting agenda.
The preschool will be one of just four in West Bay and the only one in the immediate area, Montessori West’s board of directors explained as part of their submission.
The 6,000-square-foot building will front the road and fit in context and scale to its surroundings, the board’s letter said.
A small sensory interaction zone by the play area, which will house four rabbits and two weaned baby goats, is part of the plans.
The animals will be housed in separate but adjacent, lockable pens, partly covered to protect them from the elements and minimise unwanted interaction.
The preschool’s maintenance employees will be responsible for collecting waste and recycling it as fertiliser.
The board’s letter said the facility will focus on sustainability to minimise its footprint, both during construction and through its lifecycle.
The Department of Environment, in its review of the plans, said scientific research has shown that children benefit from spending time in nature.
Other approvals
Another project the Central Planning Authority approved in the latest minutes, and subject to conditions, was a $100,000 extension to Clifton Hunter High School in Frank Sound.
The 1,456-square-foot addition to the southernmost building on the campus will include an automobile workshop, classroom, washroom and additional covered walkway.
One parking space will be eliminated but there is ample parking on the property, the plans explained.
A $1 million warehouse and 11 parking spaces off Mangrove Avenue in George Town was also given the thumbs-up subject to conditions.
The 6,000-square-foot building will be in a predominantly residential area, but with roads surrounding it on three sides. No public objections were raised.
The authority also granted permission for a shop at the Country Corner Shopping Centre in Savannah to be converted to a restaurant named Fresca Cafe at the cost of $150,000.
And it gave approval for a shop in the Cayman Centre on Dorcy Drive, George Town, to be converted to a physiotherapy clinic at a cost of $47,120.
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