Big stink over site for new Brisbane primary school

A Brisbane primary school could be built next to a sewage pump station and bat colony. And a local athletics club hates the idea.

A new controversy has blown up about plans for the first primary school in Brisbane’s inner-west in six decades, with an athletics club hopping mad and concerns about bats and sewage smells.

The Department of Education has confirmed it looked at more than 60 suggested locations for the school, which would have about 900 students, but has whittled the list down to just two.

It has emerged one of those, the Perrin Park precinct in Toowong, has a sewage pump station, is next to a bat colony and regularly floods.

The Department is currently investigating traffic impacts and flooding issues at the precinct.

A suggestion from local state Greens MP, Michael Berkman, that students could use adjacent Jack Cook Memorial Park for playing fields have also infuriated community groups.

A map posted by Mr Berkman’s office showing the Perrin Park precinct and Jack Cook Memorial Park.

Mr Berkman announced this week that he had met with the Department of Education project team and was advised that it would consider the park as a playground if there was a school built on the former Toowong Bowls Club.

“I also asked them whether they would consider Jack Cooke (sic) Park as an alternative play/sports area if there was a school on the bowls club land, and they confirmed that this was an option provided there is a safe pedestrian route between them,’’ Mr Berkman told followers of his Facebook page.

“I’d be interested in hearing from you about whether you’d prefer that.’’

However, he told Westside News today (June 4) that the Government could also look at demolishing the SES depot and turning that into a school playground.

“I acknowledge Harriers is a huge asset to the community and a huge amount of voluntary effort goes into it. My kids also went there for a while,’’ he said.

“The bottom line is the State needs to buy land, it can’t keep on carving up existing green space.’’

Trees have been removed from Perrin Park in previous years due to damage from a bat colony. Picture: Patria Jannides

Toowong Harriers Athletics Club president, Ross Anderson, said the club had been blindsided by Mr Berkman’s post and said the Government had not consulted it. Mr Berkman called him on Friday to discuss the issue.

He said the park, which Harriers has leased from Council for four decades, was fully used by school and community sporting groups and unsuitable for a school playground.

“Brisbane Girls Grammar School, St Peters Lutheran College and Brigidine College hire it every afternoon,’’ he said.

“Community groups like KickIt, touch footy groups and Taringa Rovers (football club) use it in the evenings.

“I’ve got a full calendar, I can’t take any more bookings until September.

“The whole area is contaminated and in a flood zone. It was capped with clay and resurfaced in 2015.

“The clay means it needs a lot of maintenance. We spend $35,000 to $40,000 a year, including volunteer labour, looking after it and having a school use it as a playground would destroy it.’’

Local LNP Councillor, James Mackay, said Council’s position was unchanged — it did not want to lose any green space or community facilities, including the bowls club.

Councillor James Mackay. Picture: Renae Droop

Mr Berkman said in his post this week that he had pushed for a commitment from the Department to release a report on why it rejected the top 11 sites it considered for the new primary school.

Selecting a site for the school has been a political nightmare for the Government, which announced the project during the previous election.

It confirmed last month that the start date had been pushed out to 2024 to allow for a second round of public consultation.

The Government set aside $65 million in last year’s Budget for the project, which was designed to ease enrolment pressure on nearby schools including St Lucia’s Ironside State School.

A suggestion the new school be built on Toowong’s Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology campus sparked a street protest and Parliamentary petition which eventually attracted 4000 signatures. That option has now been canned.

One of the two remaining options the Government will consider, co-locating it on the Indooroopilly State High site, has also proved massively unpopular due to traffic concerns.

QASMT has been rejected as a site for the new school after a fierce campaign by parents and students. Picture: Nathan/Richter

“They (the Department) concluded that only the land at ISHS and the “Perrin Park Precinct” (former Toowong Bowls Club site) were feasible options,’’ Mr Berkman said in his post.

“The key reasons they told us that sites were not appropriate were that they were too small, for example the TriCare Taringa retirement village site or didn’t adequately address the catchment concerns, for example land at the University of Queensland, Indooroopilly Golf Club, in Chapel Hill or Fig Tree Pocket.

“I know many people won’t be keen on either of the options currently subject to consultation, and I agree there are significant problems with both.

Michael Berkman. Picture: David Clark

“The Department also acknowledged clearly that neither site is ideal, but given the urgent demand it is crucial that one is chosen within the next few months.

“They also made it clear to me that they are open to whatever measures and feedback that would make one of these options workable and acceptable for the broader community.’’

The State Government said strict out-of-catchment controls at Ironside had seen its school population drop slightly, which would help until a new school could be built.

Mr Berkman said the Department had also confirmed the Perrin Park option would not affect Taringa Community Garden, a popular local dog park and open space.

It was open to the idea of a land swap with Council to offset the loss of the bowls club, he said.

Council has recently announced it has chosen a new lessee to run the facility, which closed last year.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION SESSIONS

The Government is holding consultation sessions on June 12, from 10am to midday, at the Heroes Ave side of Perrin Park and on June 16 from 2.30–4.30pm.

Another session is planned for June 19 from 2-4pm at ISHS’s new hall in Turner St.

Mr Berkman will host an open office drop-in session on June 24, from 2-5pm at 1/49 Station Rd, Indooroopilly.