They will be back on Macquarie Street on April 17 in the hope of topping up the 8900 signatures in hand on Wednesday.

With 10,000 signatures the petition opposing the closure of the not-for-profit childcare centre on the hospital grounds by the end of 2015 would have to be debated in the NSW Parliament.

Save Playmates Cottage sub-committee member Annette Priest has told the Daily Liberal in a statement that securing more signatures is "imperative".

"We will have the opportunity to meet with the planners to put our case for keeping Playmates Cottage where it is and to have the support of 10,000 petitioners will surely help our cause," she said.

State Member for Dubbo Troy Grant asked Health Infrastructure to set up a meeting between the Playmates Cottage representatives and the master planners "to look at opportunities to include Playmates as part of that planning process".

"That process is expected to be known by the last quarter of this year," he said yesterday.

"The tenders for the planning project closed last week."

The plea for signatures follows advice last week from federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton.

"At the meeting with Mr Coulton, Playmates Cottage representatives were advised that the service was not eligible to receive funding from the federal government to relocate," Mrs Priest said.

Yesterday Mr Coulton said talks with the federal Assistant Minister for Education Sussan Ley had revealed that "there is not currently a funding program for capital works for childcare centres".

In her statement Mrs Priest told of a December meeting with Western NSW Local Health District (LHD) executives where "we were informed that there is no suitable site on the hospital campus for Playmates to be relocated to as part of the hospital redevelopment".

"Nor have we been offered any capital assistance from the state government to relocate elsewhere," she said.

But Mr Grant yesterday said the sub-committee had "not taken up" repeated offers from him and the LHD to help source funding for a "potential relocation if that becomes necessary".

"They have been given in excess of two years notification to pursue that option in case the premises is required for health services, again a significant period of time to look at other options but they have failed to make effective use of that time instead have elected to pursue a community based petition and media campaign," he said.

Mr Grant also rejected Mrs Priest's speculation that the childcare centre might make way for a car park with users charged "to cover the loss of rental income from Playmates Cottage".

"Playmates have been explicitly told that the health owned building they occupy will not be bulldozed," he said.

"I will be issuing in the week following Easter a brochure with the factual account of the Playmates scenario and hospital master plan opportunities with a survey to all Dubbo residents and I look forward to the communities response."