Sense of urgency needed with old school site

IT’S the start of another school year and there it is, the old senior campus of the Wonthaggi Secondary College in McBride Avenue, standing unused and with little or no sign of action aside from the security shutters on the windows.

Taking up the whole block bordered by Watt and McKenzie streets, Baillieu Street East and McBride Avenue, it’s a massive development site right in the middle of town that received considerable coverage in the Wonthaggi Activity Centre Plan.

The shire wants it for a “civic hub” to provide community services and facilities such as a library, learning services and an arts centre, but also with a mix of commercial, retail and residential uses.

The shire has even suggested that the site might host buildings stretching up to six storeys in height – Wonthaggi’s version of high rise.

There’s also been the guarantee that any proposal will go out for public consultation before a commitment is made to future use.

But there’s no sense of urgency, which seems to be a consistent theme with projects managed by or involving the Bass Coast Shire Council.

However, with the potential for this area to host a significant amount of low-cost, social housing in tasteful, centrally-located apartment buildings, within a community services layout that should also include a large area for all-day parking, the shire and the state government should be getting on with it.

And if ever there was a project for a consultant to take forward through concept design and development approval, this is it.

It may be, especially as the site is owned by the State Government, presumably through its Victorian School Building Authority, that it should be the government which takes the lead on this, in partnership with the private sector, a company which would be happy to take ownership of a large, central location in a thriving region in exchange for like value in community housing.

Think outside the square, call in a consultant, crack some heads together, do whatever it takes but for goodness sake get on with it or hand it over to someone who can.