Father-of-two Luke Mayberry is happy to hear a new school will be built in Calderwood after over a year of lobbying.
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Early planning has begun for the new primary school in Calderwood with no confirmed time frame yet for when construction begins.
The Calderwood resident signed a petition in August 2022 for a primary school to be built in the suburb. The petition was created by the member for Kiama Gareth Ward.
"I spoke with Gareth personally and then obviously he got the ball rolling with the petition," Mr Mayberry said.
"It will be more accessible for us to have a Calderwood school than have to come out to Albion Park or Tullimbar which is causing congestion and traffic."
The Department of Education said they are defining the scope and size of the school based on the service needs of the local area.
"We have identified a preferred site and are undertaking detailed site investigations and planning for enabling works, to assess the suitability of the site to build the new school," a Department of Education spokesperson said.
The Department would not name where this preferred site is for the school while they investigate its suitability.
Mr Mayberry said he would consider enrolling both his children into the new school when it opens.
He hopes it will be in a location that is safe for kids to cross the road, and is easy for buses and cars to travel to.
Gareth Ward welcomed the announcement of the new primary school but criticised the lack of details on the Department of Education's School Infrastructure website.
"The website doesn't tell us how many students the school will service, when construction will start and when it will be finally open to the public. These are important questions and local residents in Calderwood want to know the answers," Mr Ward said.
The Department of Education said the timeline is dependent on the timing of business case approval, release of funds, planning and statutory approvals and procurement.
"Construction and completion timelines for the project will be finalised once the project is in the delivery phase and a contractor has been appointed," a spokesperson for the Department of Education said.
A new nature playground at Minnamurra Public School has also been announced by the Department of Education from the 2023-24 NSW budget delivering $1.4 billion for new and upgraded schools in regional NSW.
The nature playground is set to include:
- A timber fort with a climbing wall with two climbing nets and a ladder step
- A tree log tepee
- Timber cubby house frame
- Timber jetty with tree log posts
- Dry bed creek with tree log crossing
- Hopping logs
- Low picket fence and loose parts to play
- Incorporate existing trees, mulch flooring, sandstone logs, boulders
The construction of the playground is expected to begin in late 2023 and open in early 2024.
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Marlene Even
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
