Site anger boiling on new high school

IT is the ultimate indulgence for many of us, but for Igor Van Gerwen chocolate is an essential part of life.

Notching up 30 years in business this year, the founder of Latrobe’s famous House of Anvers has no thoughts of slowing down.

Rather, the artisan chocolatier and food tourism pioneer is preparing to expand both his product range and tourism offering. RATEPAYERS are wearing the effects of a dispute between the State Government and the Brighton Council over a new high school proposal for the municipality, Labor says.

The State Government last month earmarked three possible sites for a new $30 million Brighton High School.

It listed Racecourse Rd, Elderslie Rd and Pontville near the sporting facilities as possible sites but did not include the Jordan River Learning Federation School Farm, a site Mayor Tony Foster believes is too central for a farm school but ideal for a new high school.

Labor education spokesman Josh Willie said the Government had botched the process.

“This project is facing serious delays because of the conflict between the State Government and the Brighton

As Latrobe prepares for tomorrow’s annual Chocolate Winterfest, Mr Van Gerwen, 53, has revealed he is seeking business partners to help him take Anvers to the next stage.

“You can’t sit still and just keep doing the same thing over and over,” he said.

Part of his vision is to take production on a bean-to-bar journey, as go-to-whoa making is known in the confectionary game.

For that, Mr Van Gerwen said he needs to build a new Council on the preferred site,” Mr Willie said. “Council are already working on the basis that the school will be built at the existing school farm site but Jeremy Rockliff says it’s no good and community members are rightly wondering what is going on.”

Two of the earmarked sites are council-owned and one is privately owned.

Mr Willie questioned whether the Government was planning to compulsorily acfactory to make all his own couverture, rather than commissioning factories elsewhere to mix it from his supplied beans and to his specifications.

He has already bought adjoining land for the expansion, and plans to give over the landmark Bass Highway bungalow that now houses his factory, cafe and museum to tourism.

Best-known for his handcrafted truffles and pralines, Mr Van Gerwen is quire council land.

“Given one of the preferred sites is privately owned, [Education Minister] Jeremy Rockliff must also come clean and reveal whether the $30 million allocated to the project includes funding for land acquisition. If it doesn’t, is this just another unfunded election promise?” he said.

Cr Foster said the council was prepared to buy the school farm site to provide a longterm lease to the department to reduce the relocation cost.

He said the council had approached the Government to engage in roundtable talks “but the Government is going down a different path”.

“I feel at times the Government is not listening to anything we say,” he said. “We’ve got to make a long-term decision and cater for the overall wellbeing of the community. At the end of the day the best thing to do is to work together and that’s not happening.”

Mr Rockliff said the Government’s three proposed sites were shortlisted after “extensive community consultation”.

“Importantly, a second round of consultation is now under way to give the community an opportunity to have a say in the final site, this includes community meetings in Brighton next week,” he said. School site backflip a mistake.

Talking Point, Pages 36-37