Town hall
BALLARAT Grammar School will seek to establish a new farming and equine campus in Mount Rowan, under a plan to be considered at tonight’s council meeting.
The school has asked the council to seek a planning amendment for a site in Gillies Road, Mount Rowan, which is currently zoned as farming land.
More than 50 hectares of land already owned by the school and bordered by Gillies Road, Sims Road and the Midland Highway would be used for the new campus, providing additional space for facilities to complement the school’s existing 40-acre Forest Street, Wendouree campus.
Councillors will consider a proposal for the site under an extraordinary circumstances clause ahead of the implementation of a proposed farming zone in coming months.
City of Ballarat planning officer Jessie Keating used a report to the caretaker council to recommend that Ballarat Grammar School be required to produce a consultation strategy and complete a community consultation process over the plan before November 1.
The school will also be required to provide councillors with an incorporated document outlining its intended use for the site under local planning schedules.
“Council need to determine whether to undertake a site specific amendment to the Ballarat Planning Scheme to allow for this use, or alternatively to wait for the release of the proposed reformed farming zone in the coming months to make provisions for the school,” the report said.
Ms Keating said any decision on the site could also be deferred until the release of the reformed farming zone, which is expected to incorporate education as a permitted use for the site.
thomas.mcilroy@thecourier.com.au
