Toowoomba Regional Council decision saves school $85k in infrastructure charges

The Toowoomba Regional Council has given an independent school a lower infrastructure charges bill for its approved extension, based on a new calculation rate.

An artist's concept for the approved multipurpose building at the One School Global (AGNEW) School on Gerrard St in Middle Ridge.

A Toowoomba school has been granted a far lower bill on its infrastructure charges totalling $85,000, after the council controversially voted to recalculate it based on different criteria.

OneSchool Global, which used to be known as Agnew School, was approved by the Toowoomba Regional Council in September for an expansion of its grounds at Gerrard St in Middle Ridge that included indoor sporting facilities, a tuckshop, home economics classroom and storage areas for sporting equipment.

The approval carried an infrastructure charges notice worth $178,000, with the bill calculated based on the use being for an “educational establishment”.

The school applied for a discount or waiver last week, arguing the expansion’s use was more applicable as an “indoor sport and recreation facility”, which uses a far lower cost per square metre ratio.

While council officers recommended the request be rejected, Deputy Mayor Geoff McDonald agreed with this notion and moved an alternate motion yesterday to recalculate the charges based on the new use.

This led to a new charge of just over $93,000, which was based on combined calculations of three different uses.

“This isn’t a reduction or waiver, it’s just a change in the use calculation,” Cr McDonald said.

“The issue here is the applicant wasn’t attuned to what the use should be classed as (when applying).”

But Cr Bill Cahill spoke against the alternate motion, saying the primary purpose of the extension was to benefit the school.

“Around the use, we’re splitting hairs,” he said.

“The primary use is an educational facility, it’s not about what activities necessarily happen in there — it’s an educational facility, like sport and rec, home economics.

“The letter from the school calls it a multipurpose facility (and) the reality is, if it wasn’t there for the primary use of the school, they would not be building it.”

Cr James O’Shea also motioned against it, saying the council needed to be consistent in granting lower infrastructure charges.

But Cr Tim McMahon supported the motion, saying he was happy with extension being defined as indoor sport and recreation.

Despite the opposition, the motion passed comfortably.