“Problematic”: Community concerned new school could sew division

While most North Melbournians welcome a new school, the community has raised concerns that the Victorian Government’s proposed $36 million North Melbourne Hill Primary School has progressed without consultation.

The six-storey school – due to begin construction in the middle of this year and finishing in 2023 – will be built on land being redeveloped as part of the government’s Public Housing Renewal Program.

However, various members of the community have been left in the dark about whether the new school – which will be less than a block away from North Melbourne Primary – will form a second campus or function as a new stand-alone school.

During Parliament on March 3, Planning Minister Richard Wynne suggested North Melbourne Hill Primary School would be a new school separate to the existing school. However, further details about zoning remain unclear.

In particular, community members have raised concerns with North West City News that the new school’s zoning could lead to socio-economic division and that the vertical design could deprive students of adequate outdoor spaces.

Nearby resident Anita Rivera said consultation had been “problematic” and expressed concerns over the development of North Melbourne Hill Primary School occurring separately to the redevelopment of Abbotsford St estate social housing.

“The whole consultation piece had been really problematic,” she said.

The word ‘consultation’ gets used a lot, it’s ticking a box, but there’s very little opportunity for the community to engage.

By way of example, Ms Rivera said a traffic management report for the housing project estimated 1000 additional cars would travel along Molesworth St each day, but no traffic reports had been completed for the school.

“There’s a lot of little kids on scooters and walking and lots of old ladies – a lot of people who are more vulnerable to traffic,” she said.

One nearby resident in the immediate vicinity who wished to remain anonymous told North West City News the school was originally planned to be oriented in a north-south direction along Hardwicke St, which she said would create minimal overshadowing of the new social housing apartments.

The resident, speaking on behalf of a number of community members, said an “L-shaped” design instead of a six-storey block should have been considered to allow more light to penetrate the new housing.

But nearby resident Rachel Laihung Chiu, who moved to the area three years ago, said she could not wait to send her three-year old son to the new school.

“My husband and I are very excited about it because it’s just opposite our house,” she said.

“We know the capacity, there’s lots of people and we believe the new school will make our area more vibrant.”

Greens State MP for Melbourne Ellen Sandell said there had been a stark lack of “good-faith” community consultation about the new school, and asked the Ministers for Education, Housing and Planning at Parliament in March to discuss the various issues raised in relation to the school with her.

“In the past two weeks I’ve received almost 100 messages from concerned parents and residents who are worried that the school will be a stand-alone school, not a second campus of the existing North Melbourne Primary, which could divide the community in two,” she said in a statement.

“This decision could mean the majority of public housing residents are sent to a high-rise school with little outdoor space, while students from wealthier families attend a different school.”

A Department of Education spokesperson said the new school would help ease current demand and enrolment pressures on existing sites.

“Every student has the right to attend their local Victorian government school and students can also enrol at a school outside their zone if capacity allows it,” the spokesperson said.

“A virtual community information session was held in December for local residents to discuss the project and provide feedback as the new school is developed.”

“Consistent with all school building projects, the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) will work with local authorities to develop a traffic management plan for the North Melbourne Hill Primary School site during construction.”

According to the VSBA, the new school will include amenities such as play and recreational spaces for children, an outdoor stage, tiered seating and an events space along with a gym, basketball and netball court.

A kindergarten for three- and four-year-old children will be built on level five of the school which will include two rooms opening out onto an outdoor learning and play spaces.