The Port Adelaide region is home to the much-publicised Osborne Naval Shipyard. This high-tech defence industry means thousands of jobs and prosperity for the South Australian community. This type of industry requires skilled tradespeople.
Western Technical College at Rosewater (a campus of Mount Carmel College) is set to expand its trade training facilities to ensure a pipeline of appropriately skilled young people.
Key planning issues were whether the function of this secondary school would extend beyond the local community, noise, traffic and parking.
The State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) was unphased by the facility serving a wider catchment, stating that it is a “more specialised educational service being provided to a relatively small number of students”. SCAP was also satisfied that all relevant noise, traffic and parking guidelines are met as agreed by numerous experts who have reviewed the proposal in detail.
The College is very conscious of being a good neighbour and will operate in a way that minimises any impact on residents.
It is worth noting that reference to high schools serving the local community has been more recently removed from the General Neighbourhood Zone in the Planning & Design Code. We think that this is an important acknowledgement of the reality of high schools drawing from a relatively wide catchment. It also reinforces schools as important land uses within neighbourhoods, on at least equal footing to residential development.
We wish the new Western Technical College every success in skilling-up our young people for important work in defence and allied industries.
