Former Toowong Bowls Club site named as location for new Brisbane primary school

After much delay, the site of a new primary school in Brisbane’s inner west has been announced, following significant pushback from locals.

Toowong Lawn Bowls Club at Perrin Park. Picture: Richard Walker

The former site of a bowls club in Brisbane’s inner west will be transformed into a new multimillion-dollar vertical primary school after a long-running battle with local residents to determine a location.

Ideally slated for a 2024 opening, the new $90 million inner west primary school will be built on the site of the former Toowong Bowls Club near Perrin Park, with the school designed to ease enrolment pressure off the increasingly popular Ironside and Indooroopilly state schools.

Alternative sites including at Indooroopilly State High School were considered, but extra rounds of community consultation were ordered after significant pushback from locals.

A report released by the Department of Education in September showed the Toowong site was the overwhelmingly preferred option for residents.

Education Minister Grace Grace said the consultation along with studies into flooding, traffic, and environmental factors had cemented the decision.

“The Department of Education is committed to liaising with stakeholders to progress the development of this school site, including Brisbane City Council and the local community, as the project advances to ensure the new school contributes to, and is supported by the local community,” she said.

“Further community consultation will take place in 2022 as the master plan and design of the new school advance.”

The Toowong site was the overwhelmingly preferred option for residents. Picture: Richard Walker

But LNP education spokesman Christian Rowan said the community consultation about the new school had been “appalling”.

“There are genuine and real community concerns about increasing traffic congestion, local resident and environmental impacts, and a significant loss of green space,” he said.

“Whilst new school infrastructure is needed, Labor continually fails to consult and adequately plan for residents in the western suburbs of Brisbane.”

Dr Rowan also said there were significant infrastructure issues regarding Kenmore State High School.

“Local residents across the western suburbs of Brisbane must be heard, and the needs of students, families and teachers properly planned for, as a priority,” he said.

Ms Grace said the health of a flying fox colony located in Perrin Park, which had been the source of some angst for locals with regards to the school, would be preserved.

The school was set to be the state’s first vertical primary school, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk saying the identifying of a preserved site was a significant step forward.

“The former Toowong Bowls Club site is a great location for an innovative vertical school design that integrates indoor and outdoor spaces, maximising available land to provide capacity for up to 900 students when Stage 1 and 2 are delivered,” she said.

“Building upward instead of outward, helps to alleviate the need for large school sites while complementing the surrounding urban environment.”

The state government was forced to delay the school’s opening by a year, after further investigations into the best site for the new school were ordered.

Local Greens MP for Maiwar Michael Berkman, who has campaigned for the new school, urged the Brisbane City Council to use the payday to create new green space in the area.

“Losing the Bowlo is far from perfect (hence my push for the government to buy new public land) but it does mean that Council will get a multimillion dollar sale price,” he posted on Facebook.

“They must use that money to deliver new parkland and community facilities, and I’m hoping that Cr James Mackay will be open to collaborating on where that parkland will be.”