St Joseph's Parish will consider all options for 'prime' school site

Father John Fitzgerald from St Joseph's Parish, which leases the site to the college, said he was open to ideas about its future.

The large 3.5 acre, triangular site overlooks the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens and is located in one of the city's most prestigious residential areas.

The move comes as the college announced this week it would cease operations at its Canterbury Road campus from 2025 when it consolidates the school on one campus.

He said despite Warrnambool's growth and talk in the past of a need for more schools, it was "unlikely" it would become a new Catholic primary school.

"We really have no idea but we have decided nothing will be done in haste," Fr Fitzgerald said.

He said the parish would take its time to consider all options and there were no immediate plans, with "no pressure on us to make a hasty decision".

"It will be in consultation with our Catholic community and the wider community because it's a prime site.

"I know there will be certain groups who might say 'it would be good for this or that' but we won't be pressured into making a decision by interest groups.

"We're open-minded. There needs to be a lot of discernment and consultation and no decisions will be made in haste."

The Canterbury Road site and the college's Botanic Road campus are both currently zoned general residential, which is common for private school facilities.

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He said the college would lease the Canterbury Road site up to the end of 2024 but it had "the space and flexibility" to extend the lease if construction of the new year nine learning centre at the Botanic Road campus took longer than anticipated.

He said based on current trends there wasn't the need for a new primary school.

Fr Fitzgerald said it looked at the need for new schools a few years ago but the Catholic Education Office said there "wasn't the need for another school in the immediate future".

"Even though Warrnambool has grown, I don't think the young families have grown," Fr Fitzgerald said.

"The graph, if it kept going up, naturally we would consider it, but we were told to slow down in that area and we may not need one.

"There is a bit of room in some of our Catholic schools to educate a few more students so it is unlikely."

He said any calls to recognise historical sexual abuse that occurred at the site when it was CBC, such as a garden or for sale proceeds to go to victims, would be heard.

"We would be open in our consultation," he said. "No doubt those views will be aired and we would be open to hear that and we will hear it. We're not leaving that off the agenda. If that is shared that will be listened to."

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