Queensland
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Queensland

Inner-city apartment living causing major school problems in Brisbane

Queensland governments sold land set for "education" to developers until 2013 to build thousands of apartments in West End and South Brisbane without considering the impact on local schools in 2017.

Now "pissed off parents" and one school's Parents and Citizens Association worry where their children will play as the schools – which cannot physically expand – cope with hundreds of extra students.

Up Next

Fire at Coolum water park

null
Video duration
00:49

More QLD News Videos

null
Video duration
01:05

West End school out of space
null
Video duration
01:18

Coorparoo fire hero saves man
null
Video duration
01:18

Coolum fire: 'extremely fast'
null
Video duration
00:40

Photographer charged with child abuse
null
Video duration
01:32

Extreme UV levels in heatwave
More videos

West End school out of space

West End State School is fast running out of room to cope with the rapidly growing area, using up playground space while it builds more classrooms.

The 2014 study by the West End State School's school council - never before made public - shows the region needs 700 new primary school places.

"The families enrolling at WESS are from an increasingly diverse national background, with increasing representation from countries in Asia and the Middle East where it is very normal for families to reside in compact apartments in high-density areas," the WESS August 2014 School Council report reads.

"We anticipate increased demand of 700+ places."

One West End State School parent, business owner, property economist and sociologist, Carla Mullins pointed to a December 2016 news story where running was banned at a crowded inner-city school in Sydney.

Advertisement

"Artarmon Public School is very similar to the West End demographic," Ms Mullins, who has a seven-year-old son at West End State School, said.

"And that is probably the biggest issue. There is now really very little room for children to play at West End anymore," Ms Mullins said.

"And that is probably the most significant part of education that people forget."

West End Community Association president Dr Erin Evans said the emerging situation was a planning failure.

"It's a canary in a coal mine for just how poor the planning has been in the area," Dr Evans said.

"Our children simply should not be canaries."

Brisbane State High School has grown in the last three years to have an enrolment of 3144 - over its capacity of 3000 students - to be Australia's largest high school, executive principal Wade Hayes said.

"The compounding local growth rate is 2 per cent," Mr Hayes said.

"Ours is 20 per cent."

What has happened recently?

This week temporary classrooms have been  put on West End State School's tennis courts and playgrounds at West End State School where enrolments have jumped from 735 (2014) to 854 (2016) and about 900 in 2017.

The school is about to begin an $11 million, four to five year upgrade, where eight new classrooms and a new resource centre are being added to the school to provide an extra 200 to 250 students.

The school will reach 1100 students within four years on current enrolment growth.

However more than 62 per cent of West End State School's students now live in apartments, according to the school's own master plan.

Education Queensland insists the eight extra classrooms - an extra 200 to 225 students - will cover future growth.

However the West End State School Parents and Citizens Association president Karen Czornohalan questions how quickly those spaces will be filled with the number of new apartments in the region.

"Are apartments having an impact on our enrolment? Oh God, yeah," Ms Czornohalan said.

She said the Education Queensland upgrade was "well appreciated", but there was a concern play space at the school would become a problem over the next four years.

"While all that does happen, things do get lost and play space does become an issue," she said.

The background

Dozens of apartment complexes in West End and South Brisbane are now housing families that are sending their children to crowded local schools.

Botanica Residences in South Brisbane confirmed on Wednesday that "about 20 per cent" of their 180 units housed families and the children went to "local schools", while nearby apartment Canvas has only three families in its 140 units. There is around 50 apartment complexes in West End and South Brisbane now.

In 2013, the previous Liberal National Party government sold two large land parcels; the School of Distance Education on Montague Road (Pradella, $12.6 million) and the old Southbank TAFE Institute site on Cordelia Street (Metro Developments, $20 million).

Apartment complexes with more than 600 apartments are now being built on both sites.

Between 2007-2011 around 1000 units were added in West End and South Brisbane.

In 2013-14 Brisbane City Council received applications for a further 2862 units in West End and South Brisbane.

What should happen now?

West End State School

Ms Czornohalan said education sites in West End and South Brisbane should never have been sold.

 "We have fought for years for an alternative site," she said.

"The School of Distance Education site should never, ever have been sold."

West End State School has begun talks about using nearby land on Vulture Street, now used by police.

"We have had a meeting with our local member (Jackie Trad) about it," Ms Czornohalan said.

"And that's now a discussion between the three ministers I understand; education, police and deputy premier," she said.

More than two years ago the school's council recommended that land at 35 Vulture Street be re-zoned to education to cope with population growth.

Ms Czornohalan said it was clear growth at schools in the area – including Brisbane State High School, which has grown to become one of Australia's largest high schools – needed the site.

Local MP and deputy premier Jackie Trad

Ms Trad said dealing with the emerging population problem on the South Brisbane/WestEnd peninsula was complex, but said the $11 million for West End State School upgrade showed the government was acting quickly.

She said she has already spoken with Education Minister Kate Jones and Police Minister Mark Ryan about the Vulture Street property where Queensland Police are one tenant.

"This is one option that is on the table," Ms Trad said. "It is the school's preferred option and I am very determined to explore all options," she said.

She said the Vulture Street site was a longer-term option because there were multiple owners and multiple tenants on the site.

She was confident her two sons - who go to West End State School - would have room to play at the school.

"I am satisfied. My boys use that oval even when school is not on," she said, but said the school may need to look at "scheduling' when different students used the oval at different times of the day in the future.

"So they might increasingly look at scheduling when kids use the oval."

Dr Erin Evans, West End Community Association.

WECA president Dr Erin Evans said the community feels it has received no long-term planning from successive governments.

"It's all just been short-term, knee-jerk planning," she said.

"And what we don't want is for schools in this state to go down the path of other states where students simply down have the space to run around," Dr Evans said.

Brisbane State High School executive principal Wade Hayes.

Mr Hayes said apartments made it easier for people to "move into the area to gain access to the school."

"Last year we had 120 from the local primary school, but we had 300 from 'the local area'," Mr Hayes said.

"So there is obviously a gap."

Local business owner, property economist and parent of West End State School child, Carla Mullins

Ms Mullins says more than 1000 apartments had been built since 2011.

"So since 2011, we have probably had around 3000 residents come in to West End."

In addition, in 2013-14 Brisbane City Council received applications for a further 2862 units in West End and South Brisbane.

Ms Mullins said the 2011 census showed a major change in South Brisbane/West End.

 "In 2007, only 18 per cent had school aged children. However at the 2011 census 46.2 per cent had school-aged children," she said.

"That's a huge bloody increase."

Declaration: Tony Moore lives at West End

0 comments