The East Launceston Primary School’s Parents and Friends Association is confident a deal on an exchange of land will be reached early next year with the state government.
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The association voted this week in favour of the exchange with the Department of Education, which would include the Parents and Friends receiving a larger proportion of the open green space on the site.
It has been a topic of debate since August this year, when the school was allocated $4.5 million in state funding.
The association is in the unique position of owning part of the school’s oval, and was asked by the department to co-contribute some of the land for the redevelopment work.
This was met with protest from some of the local community, who raised concerns including a potential loss of revenue for the association and the potential future use of the land.
However, 81 per cent of Parents and Friends members who voted on Wednesday evening voted to give the association’s executive committee the authority to negotiate the exchange of land with the department.
There were 336 votes cast, with 273 voting ‘yes’ and 63 voting ‘no’. The association needed a minimum of 75 per cent to pass the decision.
A department spokesperson said the association would seek formal approval for the handover in January, and further details would be available when that process was complete.
Association secretary Paul Vandenberg said the land handed over to the department would include an area on the bank next to the school oval and the pavilion. However, he said the association was confident there would be no lost revenue.
“The negotiations will include a lease arrangement with the department, which means there will be no significant change to revenue,” he said.
The school is set to undergo a $4.5 million capital works redevelopment, allocated in the 2016-17 budget.
That will include new kindergarten facilities, general learning areas and a multi-purpose facility for the overcrowded school.
“The negotiations are needed to work out the details of who’s paying for what and where they can build, and then they can go ahead with their plans,” Mr Vandenberg said.
The association expects the decision and plans to move along quite quickly, and hopes there will be movement within the next six months.