Source : BUSINESS NEWS
The state’s major project assessment body has flagged that an East Perth Primary School will not be enough on its own to address future education needs of the inner-city population.
The controversial school site, currently a car park next to Queen’s Gardens and the WACA Ground, was the subject of a spat between the City of Perth and the state last year.
Having reclaimed the rights to the land via legislative repeal, the state government is pressing ahead with its plan to open a $135 million primary school there in 2029.
The vertical school will accommodate 600 students initially, with an expansion capacity to 800 students, and ease the strain on the existing Highgate Primary School.
But an assessment by the independent body Infrastructure WA released this week flagged that those numbers will not be enough to accommodate population growth in the years ahead.
In its review of the government’s plan for the East Perth school, IWA said there was a clear need for a new inner-city primary school but that more capacity would be needed in future.
Making note of the time taken to secure the current site in what became a political saga, IWA called on the government to start exploring for more school sites in the area.
“Noting the significant length of time to secure a site and growing student population in the inner-city and surrounding suburbs, IWA recommends that the Department of Education commence work to address future primary and secondary school enrolment pressures in these areas, to allow sufficient time to acquire suitable sites and deliver these future schools without compromising outcomes,” it wrote.
Broadly supportive of the project and its outcomes, IWA also made comment on the cost of the facility.
The school’s price tag, IWA noted, is higher than the average primary school in Western Australia – in part due to its inner-city location compared with outer suburban schools.
“This increased cost partially due to the inner-city location relative to other, recent, new primary school developments,” it said.
“It is also accepted that there is no direct comparison to other primary schools in the WA context, with the [Inner City Primary School] being WA’s first vertical primary school, and also the first new State primary school in the inner city since the early 20th century.”
The Labor government has been set on the car park as the site for a new school for some time.
The state reclaimed parts of the site from the City of Perth by repealing the Chevron-Hilton Hotel Agreement Act 1960, which required that the site be used as a car park, in October 2024.
Former City of Perth Lord Mayor turned state opposition leader Basil Zempilas claimed the state initially offered the city cash for the land, and his council voted against a proposal for the school to be located there.
The government refuted his claims of a cash offer.
An at-times angry spat between state and council ensued, with the council claiming the land was worth $40 million and the state valuing at $27 million.
The change of legislation took the call out of the council’s hands, with the council compensated to the tune of $4.2 million for lost parking revenue.
