No plans in place for second Westmead primary school

It was announced in June, but with no budget and no site, could the Westmead primary school be a case of ‘smoke and mirrors’.

Westmead's newest school might be a pipe dream with no plans in motion for the school.

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In June NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced a second primary school in Westmead would be built, but the Opposition has accused her of making an “empty promise”.

Neither education or planning departments have been able to say whether a team had been appointed to start work on the project, provide a detailed timeline or identify a suitable site.

Seven Hills state Labor Party candidate Durga Owen said the school was an “empty promise”.

Mrs Owen said the school announcement is another example of state backflips. Picture: Justin Sanson

Granville MP, Julia Finn is skeptical the school will be built. Picture: Angelo Velardo

“As a government with a track record of backflips, the community deserves a guarantee this project will go ahead and transparency around the dates of work,” Mrs Owen said.

“The community of Westmead Public School, one of the most crowded in NSW, deserves no less than this from a government that has shown a willingness to prioritise stadiums before schools.”

A June announcement of a new public school for Westmead might be "smoke and mirrors" with no plans, sites or team in place to make the school a reality.

Opposition Education spokesman Jihad Dib said the Budget provided no concrete estimate of the cost, funding allocation for 2018-19 or start or completion dates for the school.

“Before we get too excited, let’s keep in mind there in no time frame or even budget, which means a new school could be at least five years away,” Mr Dib said.

Granville state Labor MP Julia Finn said: “A few thousand dollars in planning money without even identifying a site for a new school is just kicking the can down the road — it is not a commitment.

Jihad Dib, opposition education minister and Ms Finn oposed the plan that had no budget outilned.

“I call on the government to put their money where their mouth is instead of promising false hope for the long suffering students and teachers at our state’s biggest public school.”

An Education Department spokesman said planning for the school would be prioritised.

“The next step in planning for the school will involve looking into the future student and educational needs of the community, assessing school infrastructure solutions and options, developing a list of options and engaging with the community,” he said.

Westmead Public School is the largest primary school in the state with more than 1630 students after a surge of about 120 from the end of last year.