Yet another grand plan of Armidale Regional Council has come undone, with Homes NSW formally declining to acquire the Duval High site for housing development.
The proposal, put to Council without community consultation and a warning from Council’s own staff that it was likely to pose significant reputational risk due to the community’s emotional attachment to the site, triggered a huge reaction from the community, including a community meeting and petition against the proposal.
The withdrawal was revealed in the business papers for next Wednesday’s council meeting. Literally the same day that the NSW Government made an announcement, which highlighted the old Duval High site as the lead for the story with both Housing Minister Rose Jackson and Lands Minister Steve Kamper specifically referencing Armidale in their provided comments, Homes NSW wrote to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and told them that following further due diligence, they would not be proceeding with the site acquisition.
The letter is provided in the attachments to the meeting agenda. However, the correspondence from Homes NSW to Armidale Regional Council is oddly not included. The agenda brief from staff to council gives little insight other than to state that Homes NSW has withdrawn from the project, and the rezoning of the council-owned land at 17 Grandview Crescent, currently zoned for recreation, will not proceed.
One paragraph from the agenda states “Homes NSW advised Council that the Regional Communities Program will not proceed with any new acquisitions/pipeline projects including the Duval school site at Armidale and instead focus on the delivery and derisking of the current eight (8) projects before expanding the program.” This is not supported by the letter provided in the attachment, and in direct contrast to the press statement of the same day, which boasted that the Government was “determined” and “continuing to tackle the state’s housing crisis head-on”.
Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan, who had been blindsided by the announcement after lobbying for groups to use the old high school’s abandoned ovals for sporting and recreational purposes, had been in touch with the petitioners and had spoken to ministers about the proposal.
“A number of community groups have reached out to me about possibly using the site,” Mr Moylan said.
While the buildings of Duval High are fenced off, the ovals at the back of the school could be easily accessed and made safe for community use with little work or expense, providing the sport loving community with an additional resource.
The site remains owned by the Department of Education.
More to come.
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