Jennifer Friedli, director of Sunny Kids Bega, and a group of fellow directors will lodge an application with council before the end of July.

Ms Friedli said there was demand for another childcare centre in town, which would add to the existing Eden Child Care Centre.

“It will offer more choice to families,” Ms Friedli said.

“At the moment there is one long day childcare centre, which is challenging for families.”

The group is hoping to build the centre on a vacant lot at 83 Princes Hwy, Eden, which it bought last year next to the Eden Gardens Country Club.

The 39-place long-day centre would operate from 6am to 6pm for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers and employ 12 full-time permanent staff.

Ms Friedli said choosing Eden over other areas was not a difficult decision.

“I think Eden’s a growing area. It seems to be on the cusp of taking off in real estate and business at the moment,” she said.

“There’s a lot of room for expansion in Eden.”

Ms Friedli, a pre-school teacher with 20 years of childcare experience, said prior discussions with council were positive.

“In theory they seem to be behind it,” she said.

Should the centre be approved, it would be open by July, 2018.