By Member of Macalister Melissa McMahon
I first made the commitment to Macalister for a new primary school in 2020 to cater for our growing suburbs of Holmview and Bahrs Scrub.
With funding allocated in 2021 the process to find a location for the new school began and
was finally announced in 2023.
was finally announced in 2023.
With the site secured, the planning and design process began and, after several rounds of community consultation with locals and stakeholders, that process finished at the end of 2024.
The full scope of the project, along with requirements to upgrade surrounding roads, was signed off by the current LNP Government in February 2025, and the new Holmview School was scheduled to open in Term 1 2027.
Despite restating as recently as April this year that the school would still open in 2027, this month the Education Minister has now announced the school will not open until 2028, blaming difficulties at the site.
A site that was selected in 2023 by the department that assessed the site and considerations as part of its design phase.
This is very disappointing for local families, many of whom timed their move
to the area to coincide with the new school.
This is going to cause logistical issues for more about 400 students who were expected to commence at the school next year, with many families now having to find an alternate
school enrolment for a year – buying new uniforms just to use for a year!
school enrolment for a year – buying new uniforms just to use for a year!
This is also going to continue to be a burden on local residents living through continuing road closures and heavy construction traffic.
The Education Department must now consider the impacts of ongoing and continually increasing enrolments at our already existing schools and ensuring they are capable of catering for these extra students and ensuring the facilities and staff are available.
I would hope the delay in the school opening will give the government time to address the surrounding traffic concerns that many locals raised during the community consultation period.
I’m not convinced though.
