THE purchase of land adjacent to Toolamba Primary School would take the small school into the future, catering for expected growth in the town.
Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell, has renewed her call for the State Government to purchase the vacant block of land. Ms Lovell first raised the purchasing of this parcel of land in December 2021, and said the Toolamba P.S. council had since submitted a business case supporting the purchase to the Victorian Schools Building Authority.
Addressing the Minister for Education, Natalie Hutchins, Ms Lovell said a local family had offered the land to the school at approximately 50 percent of its market value. The block had been valued in September 2022 at $220,000.
However, it has been determined that the land contains contaminated soil, with de-contamination costs estimated at $113,000.
Ms Lovell said the news of the contamination was disappointing, but that the purchase of the land was a chance to future-proof Toolamba P.S., and an opportunity that Ms Lovell says cannot be missed.
“Toolamba is in a high growth area and the currently landlocked primary school is expected to grow significantly in the future.
“The vacant land will future-proof Toolamba Primary School and I call on the Minister to provide the full funding to purchase and de-contaminate the block of land,” said Ms Lovell.
