AMount Gambier childcare centre is fighting an application by a neighbouring service organisation to provide short term supported accommodation for individuals struggling with substance abuse issues amid safety concerns.

Helen Street’s Carma Playhouse is opposing a proposal to house six clients at any one time by Uniting Communities & Aboriginal Community Connect Mount Gambier just around the corner on Wehl Street South.

More than 50 families with children at the childcare centre have signed a petition objecting to the proposal.

Carma Playhouse director Maddie Ryan said the application posed a risk to the safety of the children in childcare.

“The premises actually forms our back wall of our backyard environment, so we are just worried about the repercussions,” she said.

“We have children here in foster care who need to be kept away from those possibly triggering incidences so we are worried about what they might see, what they might hear.

“There is a lot of difference between coming and going for a visit and actually residing there.

“We have got quite low fences and our emergency exit gate actually goes out that way and we cannot lock out it because it is an emergency exit.

“We are worried about possibly theft, possibly they could come into our backyard, they could throw things over the fence.

“The children cannot see over the fence, but adults can.”

Mrs Ryan said she had been supported by several neighbours on Wehl Street, one of whom brought the issue to her attention, as well as a business next door.

“It’s not just us, there is Reidy Park, there’s the Railway Lands, there are kids that are constantly walking past,” she said.

“We strongly support the idea but there are so many other empty premises in Mount Gambier they could use.”

Uniting Communities New ROADS (Residential and Out-Client Alcohol and Drug Service) service manager Mel Shee said the group had been delivering drug and alcohol services from the Wehl Street premises for the last decade without incident.

“The adjoining fence they are talking about is actually the solid brick wall of the building and there is no windows, there is no doors or anything like that,” she said.

“That is the complete entirety of the fence that backs onto the Carma Playhouse, it actually is the building wall … so no one can see over, no one can sort of jump over or anything like that.

“If there were any adjoining fences that essentially were deemed to be too short or lacked the ability to provide privacy we would be more than open to increasing the heights of our fences or anything like that.

“Whilst we understand our neighbours would like privacy, we also, for our clients, would like a level of privacy as well so we are more than open to addressing any potential concerns in relation to that.

“Essentially the Red Cross is actually seeing the same client group as we do and the Carma Playhouse has made a statement that essentially they are already working harmoniously with the Red Cross.”

Ms Shee said the proposed six potential clients on site at any one time will significantly reduce the amount of foot traffic at the premises.

“It will be a completely drug free environment so this is a voluntary service where people will be coming and engaging with the service because they have identified they have wanted to cease using drugs and alcohol,” she said.

“There will always be a minimum of two staff members on site and one staff member overnight so the ratio of clients to staff … is quite significant and quite high in say what it would have been utilised for when it was an office building.

“We have been there for a significant period of time delivering these services with people with complex presentations and we have had little to no impact as far as I am aware on the Carma Playhouse previously.

“The only difference would be that we would have people residing on site but those people would be residing on site after hours so the impact when they (Carma Playhouse) do not operate after hours would be negligible I would say.”

The application will be discussed at Mount Gambier City Council’s July meeting.