Yarragon rejects plan for old school site
The Yarragon community rejected Department of Treasury and Finance plans to re-zone the former Yarragon Primary School site to general residential at a public meeting on Wednesday night.
Members of the Yarragon community packed Yarragon Fire Station’s meeting room, with a proposal put forward for the Yarragon District Community Association to form a submission to the Fast Track Government Land Service (FTGLS) calling for the land to remain zoned as public use.
The submission will also reject the FTGLS process, which community members felt did not allow enough time to submit a considered response around potential use of the site.
Ideas for the site raised at the meeting included a community hub, a community space similar to Trafalgar’s McGregor Park and a new fire station to better service the growing township.
Hopes are fading that the former school site will be utilised for community purposes, with the site appearing destined for auction with the Department of Treasury and Finance requesting that the FTGLS change the zoning to general residential.
Residents raised fears of potential for a developer building three-storey townhouses, which they said was not in line with the town’s village feel.
Many community members have been lobbying the shire to buy the land for strategic community purposes for several years, and requested information around council’s rejected First Right of Refusal application.
The FROR stated that council was open to exploring all viable options under the current policy to purchase the site, however council’s application was ultimately rejected by the department on the basis that no specific defined community purpose was acceptable to the department.
It would appear now that council’s only option would be to purchase the land on the open market, which is not budgeted for.
A working group has also been formed to lobby local politicians and raise awareness of the issue in the community.
The group will meet Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood tomorrow to discuss strategies to halt the site’s fast track sale.
An information session, hosted by the Government Land Standing Advisory Committee, will be held at the Trafalgar Business Centre, Princes Highway, Trafalgar next Tuesday between 6.30pm and 7.30pm. Officers will answer questions about the process and timing and advice on how to make submissions to the advisory committee.
Hill End school A public meeting has been called for this Thursday May 18 at 7:30pm to determine how the community will proceed in efforts to save the former Hill End school site.
The meeting will be held at the former school, Paynters Rd, Hill End.