By Alesha Capone
The developer of a Truganina estate has been given permission by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to divide land earmarked for a future school into 227 residental lots.
However, the developer – ID_Land – has indicated it is still hopeful a school will be built on the site, despite VCAT’s recent decision.
The Elements estate, which will consist of up to 1600 residences, is being built near the corner of Dohertys and Woods roads.
Under the Truganina Precinct Structure Plan (PSP), land at 203 Woods Road has been set aside for a future non-government school.
A statement, issued by ID_Land last week said the land was set aside for school at the request of the Catholic Education Office.
But ID_Land has now confirmed that the Catholic Education Office will not be acquiring the site “in spite of an agreement which had initially been reached”, the statement said.
“In order to secure the school, ID_Land had offered to sell the land at a significant discount from market value, but [the Catholic Education Office] still opted to not proceed with the acquisition.
“In addition, despite a lengthy process, ID_Land has been unable to find a buyer through the non-government school networks.”
The statement said that ID_Land is still in talks with the state government “and is hopeful that the site will still one day become a school”.
“At this stage, the Department of Education has expressed initial interest in earmarking the site for a future primary school, however these discussions are still in preliminary stages,” the statement said.
“ID_Land is hoping to seek a resolution to these discussions by the end of 2020.”
The statement said that although ID_Land has a “strong preference” for the site to be used for a school, it asked VCAT for approval to develop the land into residential lots, in the event that an education-related buyer cannot be secured for the site.
Wyndham mayor Josh Gilligan has expressed concern about VCAT’s decision writing to the planning and housing minister about the matter last week.
