Purchase of former Colac High land shapes as coup for community
Published on 27 September 2018
Purchase of former Colac High School land shapes as major coup for community
Significant community health and social benefits were a key factor in Colac Otway Shire Council’s decision last night to purchase four hectares of the disused Colac High School site for development as a recreation space.
Councillors last night voted to spend $280,000 to buy the land from the State Government at a reduced value for a public/community purpose. It is envisaged future development of a master plan for the site will pave the way for active recreation facilities and other possible community use.
The purchase is subject to conditions including that the land not be encumbered by the existing heritage building, that it is free of contamination and that access from Ross Street is retained. Funds for the purchases will come from Council’s Recreational Land Reserve which holds contributions from the developers of Colac subdivisions and from Council’s unallocated surplus reserve.
The four hectare parcel agreed to last night will adjoin 2.5 hectares acquired from the State Government at no cost to form a 6.5 hectare active open space that services thousands of residents in Colac West, along with the broader Colac region.
Councillors also voted to negotiate the purchase of a third, one hectare, parcel fronting Murray Street (to the west of the existing heritage building) with a view to providing a main entrance to the space. Mayor Joe McCracken said opportunities to purchase large parcels of land for public open space purposes did not come around very often and he was looking forward to the deal being finalised with the State Government.
“The school closed in 2009 following the merger with Colac College. Since that time Colac Otway Shire has advocated strongly for the retention of the site, or at least part of the site, for public use. The Council formally asked the education department for 30 per cent of the site in 2015,” he said.
“This was based on the estimated open space contributions for development of the site, in addition to future open space contributions payable from two other school closures in Cressy and Swan Marsh.”
Cr McCracken said the Government had provided in-principle support to transfer the 2.5 hectares (30 per cent) to the Council, but said that parcel was insufficient to provide active sports facilities and passive open space.
In February this year, Councillors decided to write to the Government enquiring about an additional four hectares to transform most of the site into a key community asset.
“Through the Colac West Development Plan process and preliminary work for the Colac 2050 Growth Plan a number of opportunities presented themselves and highlighted the importance of the former school site. The Valuer General provided a community use valuation of $280,000 for the four hectare parcel and last night we decided that was a great investment for Colac,” he said.
“We believe this project, which will be shaped by the development of a master plan, will deliver significant health and social benefits for the community, particularly in an area with high social disadvantage and a deficit in access to a significant area of active open space.”