When the Armidale community was hit with the announcement that its two much loved high schools were to be merged into a single super school in 2017, the main criticism was a complete lack of consultation. The decision was made, pushed through, and work begun before consultation and normal due diligence was complete.
The resulting Armidale Secondary College is beleaguered with issues, from poor design of the new buildings to seemingly never ending reports of bullying, violence, high staff turnover, distressed kids and desperate parents. Calls for Duval High to be reopened are a steady drumbeat. Armidale Secondary College remains the only merged high school in the state that has not been de-merged in a walk back of the failed policy, with the NSW Government vowing to never again merge schools without consultation.
This week, Armidale Regional Council has delivered insult on top of injury to the education loving community, revealing they have been working for months on plans to take the Duval High site on Crest Road – which is still owned by the Minister for Education – and turn it in to housing.
Council’s own business paper could not have been more clear that Council staff thought it was a bad idea.
“There is potential reputational risk to Council given the lack of community engagement to date on the project. There is strong community attachment to the former Duval School site (noting that Council does not own or control the land) and this may have negative consequences for the project.”
The lack of consultation has also been picked up by the New England Greens, who are asking why the confidential deal is being done before any consultation takes place.
Armidale Mayor Sam Coupland said this is an exciting opportunity to work collaboratively with Homes NSW to unlock housing potential in Armidale.
“We are still in the discovery phase, and nothing is locked in yet, but the possibilities are promising with the estimates being up to 150 new homes with a modest proportion of around 30 percent social, affordable and seniors’ homes,” said Mayor Coupland.
The pitch of Council in their press release that the site – long desired by property developers as one of the few premium hill sites with fantastic views – will be for social and affordable housing has largely fallen on deaf ears. Comments across social media have pointed to the abandoned greyhound track which has not operated since 2018 and other abandoned or public land sites that could easily be used for housing, and would be more affordable and sensible given the lack of amenities and transport to Crest Road.
Only approximately 12 of the proposed homes would be affordable housing, and 13 would be senior housing, with the remaining 120 blocks commanding the usual premium price of hill property. There are no shops, services, transport, or amenities in the area, and it is not an easy walk up the hill as any former Duval student can attest, making the area far from ideal for affordable or seniors housing.
Others have pointed out the obvious issue in Council’s rhetoric, asking where the target population of 50,000 are going to send their children to school. On average, there is a public high school for every 13,500 people in NSW, meaning that Armidale would both need to reopen Duval and be planning for a third school to support that population.
During Wednesday night’s meeting, Councillor Paul Gaddes urged locals to read the documents before reacting to the news as part of a conga line of almost identical comments from those elected on Coupland’s ticket in favour of the proposal.
“Obviously the former Duval High site has been on people’s minds for some time now,” he said.
“Obviously this is a great opportunity for Armidale, it’s a great opportunity to reuse a site that would otherwise be left alone for years to come.”
While there is no doubt that the site has been allowed to fall into disrepair, the proposal would not resolve that “anytime soon” according to Cr Gaddes, with the agreement to be entered with Homes NSW just the first step in exploring the development.
Councillor Susan McMichael supported the need for more housing, but was clearly upset by the conversation.
“The fact that we are losing a public site for education upsets me deeply,” she said.
“I will vote for this, but it grieves me deeply that we don’t have a second public school where people can choose to go there and they don’t have to pay fees.”
Councillor Brad Widders “as someone who spent many years roaming those halls” cautioned about the asbestos on the site from the older buildings.
“It’s not just that we don’t have a second public high school – as someone who spent 20 years working in education that was one of the worst decisions this town has ever seen,” he said.
“Perhaps, if we give them a bit of Council land maybe, they build a second public school with something a bit more modern and upgraded that fits modern times.”
Widder also said it was good to see something happen with the site, but the issue is “likely to be our SRV or Rail Trail for this term,” causing significant debate in the community.
A KORE CSR Poll in late 2021 found that 48% of people wanted the site redeveloped as a high school, and only 10% supported the site being used for housing, less polarised than the rail trail but with a similarly high number of undecideds and neither side able to celebrate a clear win.
The statement in the release from council also confidently asserts that “NSW Government has clearly stated that the former Duval High School site is surplus to its requirements,” eerily similar to Armidale Regional Council’s repeated and equally confident claims about the rail corridor in its championing of the failed Rail Trail project – claims that were not supported by state government agencies.
New England Times has asked to the Department of Education to confirm their previous statements there are no plans to repurpose the Duval High site are still correct. Armidale Regional Council, Homes NSW, the Department of Education, and the acting Minister for Education Courtney Houssos, have been asked a number of further questions about the announced plan.
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