Victoria University says it has no plans “to cease tertiary education” at its St Albans campus, despite outlining plans to “repurpose” the site.
A VU spokeswoman said the university was investigating ways to ensure the campus provided “maximum benefit to the St Albans community”.
“Part of this might be to consider how additional uses valuable to the community can co-exist on the site,” she told
Star Weekly.
Brimbank council has requested an urgent briefing from the university about its plans for the St Albans site, where health, nutrition, arts and science courses are taught.
VU has prepared a master plan for the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) to assist with planning for the future of VU’s Jacksons Hill campus in Sunbury, which closed in 2009.
Under the heading “Transforming the West”, the master plan states: “VU has developed a west of Melbourne strategy that is designed to ensure a strong and vibrant university that drives economic prosperity and serves the needs of the region … this plan supports the university’s traditional base in Footscray, as well as the VPA’s national employment clusters in Sunshine and Werribee.”
It goes on to list new projects, including “repurposing the St Albans campus for a school and an associated teaching academy”.
The VU spokeswoman said the university would be happy to brief the council about its plans.
At a recent council meeting, Cr Bruce Lancashire said that if the university were to go ahead with its plans, it would lead to a “brain drain” from Brimbank.
“We look forward to having discussions with VU about what is intended,” he said.
“We’re very sensitive to the brain drain and we look forward to hearing what they have to say.”
