The ACT Government has a moral and social obligation to retain closed public schools as community facilities and not capitulate to opportunistic pressure from land developers.
Land developers are dancing on the graves of recently closed schools by pressing for land grabs that would rob communities to profit developers, according to Flynn P&C President, Lesley Anne Stevens.
“At a time when hundreds of children and families are mourning the loss of their beloved schools, the developer ’ pressure is callous, despicable and unconscionable,” Ms Stevens said.
“It is clear that the vultures that circled throughout the school closures campaign have now landed and are ready to rip up the carcasses. The development push makes it blatantly obvious that the whole Towards 2020 process was about making money for developers and a cash-strapped Stanhope government and not in any way about improving public education.”
“Faster release of new land in greenfield estates is a better option for meeting the housing crisis than punishing communities further through removal of community facilities and open space,” Ms Stevens said.
As designated community facilities, a number of the closed schools were the heart and soul of the local community and, in some cases, like Flynn, were the only community facility in the neighbourhood.
“It is imperative that closed schools like Flynn continue to be community facilities that serve what the local community needs and desires.”
A recent survey of more than 1200 households clearly showed the level of support for the community facility in Flynn.
“It will be a case of robbing the poor to pay the rich, if the zoning is changed, the Flynn school building is bulldozed and the land sold off to profit developers, all against community sentiment,” Ms Stevens said.
Under current zoning, the school sites continue to be community facilities that are managed by the Department of Territory and Municipal Services.
“The former Flynn Primary building and site should be retained as a facility for the whole community if it can no longer be a school.”