THERE are new fears the former Sunvale Primary School site will fall into the hands of private developers and kill off dreams of a community park in Sunshine.
The two-hectare site is one of 22 former schools on an Education Department list of surplus land to be considered for rezoning and sold off for infrastructure funding.
While the site is not part of a pilot project to transform nine former school sites across Victoria, Save Sunvale group member John Hedditch is worried the site will eventually be rezoned and sold.
“Sunvale is now officially on the hit list,” Mr Hedditch said after the existence of a more extensive list was revealed last week.
“The government’s election promise to implement the community vision for a community park on the Sunvale site seems a very empty one.
“It seems the list contains sites that are only to be considered for rezoning to higher value residential or other commercial higher-value zones.”
An advisory committee will inform Planning Minister Matthew Guy on the suitability of all rezonings following public hearings.
“Save Sunvale’s view is that the resolution of future use of the Sunvale school site has now become very cloudy and contentious and needs to be urgently considered outside the advisory committee process,” Mr Hedditch said. “It also seems very clear the window of opportunity is closing rapidly.”
Footscray Labor MP Marsha Thomson said she would raise the issue in Parliament.
“I believe if you make a commitment you honour it,” she said. “It looks like it will be sold off to the highest bidder.”
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Bernie Finn maintained the situation had not changed.
“It’s a priceless piece of land that I would love to see become a leisure area for Sunshine,” he said.
Mr Guy’s spokesman said the government was working towards the goal of a community park.
“With the Department of Education declaring it now wants to move with the disposal of the Sunvale site, the minister will meet with the education minister to ascertain how open space will be realised on this site,” he said.
“The planning minister reaffirms the intention to work with the council and community to achieve a new park for a good portion of this site.”
After a three-way merger with Sunshine East and Braybrook primary schools to form Sunshine Harvester Primary, Sunvale’s last students left in September 2009. As reported by the Weekly, Brimbank council has made an offer for the western portion of the site.
