East Toowoomba’s Mater Dei Primary School plans to demolish decaying building to make way for expansion through council

A ‘unique’ but decaying building stands in the way of a top Toowoomba primary school expanding its campus to cater for more than 100 extra students.

A growing Toowoomba primary school in one of the city’s wealthiest suburbs wants to demolish a ‘unique’ but decaying home to make way for a significant expansion.

Mater Dei Primary School in East Toowoomba lodged plans with the council in recent weeks for a variation request over the land it sits on along Curzon St.

The application, submitted by Precinct Urban Planning, would allow the school to demolish a derelict house that sits on its property.

Toowoomba's Mater Dei Primary School has lodged plans to demolish a home covered by a character neighbourhood overlay, to make way for an expansion that will cater for an extra 100 students.

According to the planning report, the property known as “the white house” has not been occupied for many years due to extensive moisture damage owing to its “unique” construction design.

“The building comprises a timber frame and floors set on brick piers, with a sheet metal roof and what appear to be precast concrete wall sheet panels for external cladding,” the report by town planner Paul Kelly said.

Toowoomba's Mater Dei Primary School has lodged plans to demolish a home covered by a character neighbourhood overlay, to make way for an expansion that will cater for an extra 100 students.

“The design and poor standard of construction of the external wall cladding has resulted in extensive moisture damage to the building as it is no longer watertight.

“The report notes the building has numerous other deficiencies and concludes that the extent of repairs required to restore the building is not economically feasible especially if required to upgrade the structure to current building code requirements.”

A key roadblock is the house is covered by the council’s neighbourhood character overlay, meaning the school must provide higher levels of justification to demolition.

Toowoomba's Mater Dei Primary School has lodged plans to demolish a home covered by a character neighbourhood overlay, to make way for an expansion that will cater for an extra 100 students. Master plan mapping.

“(The council) did not object to the proposed combined development application (during pre-lodgement meetings), acknowledging that the building to be removed is located within the school grounds and the growth of a school requires the construction of new buildings that are not necessarily of a design that is consistent with the surrounding residential streetscape character,” the planning report said.

“This advice was provided on the basis that it could be demonstrated the neighbourhood character place could be demolished/removed.”

According to the school’s 2022 masterplan documents, the house will make way for the creation of new classrooms and learning buildings, catering for more than 100 new students.

The document said the expansion would also unite all grade levels into one learning environment.

“The proposed new early years precinct in the new location within the school campus will be designed and arranged to make strong connections with the heart of the school as well as the new PE covered area and the outdoor space the east of the Good Samaritan block,” it said.

“The new development in this area of the site provides an opportunity to create a new public face of Mater Dei along Curzon St.”