[Story published in October]
THE site of the former Sale and District Specialist School (Raymond Street Campus) behind The Wedge has been drawing attention for the wrong reason – a noticeably messy nature strip.
Sale resident Eric Jackson expressed concern about the nature strip and said he had spoken to members of council about it.
“I’m not causing any trouble, but (council) wants people to come live in Sale,” he said.
“They should tidy it up a bit … it’s a disgrace really.”
The area faces the Canal Reserve and Mr Jackson suggested that passengers on the Rubeena may not be impressed by what they see.
Mr Jackson said he was told the state government was ultimately responsible for the area.
Photos taken on September 13 showed an unkempt lawn that looked out of place near lawns only metres away that had been maintained.
The Gippsland Times asked Wellington Shire Council about the matter, and was told the area was the property of the Department of Education and Training (DET).
While waiting for a response from the DET, the Gippsland Times took photos on October 8 that showed the area had been partially attended to, the grass being cut.
On October 10, a DET spokesperson told the Gippsland Times that a maintenance team would attend to the area by the end of this week.
“The former Sale and District Specialist School (Raymond Street Campus) was declared surplus and no longer required for education needs,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s managed and maintained by the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) Land Regeneration Program which provides ongoing maintenance.
“The department has since arranged for a maintenance team to attend to the area and this will be completed by the end of the week.”
The area in question is part of an agreement with a third party that occupies the former school site and the VSBA is seeking to discuss maintenance with the party.
If a site is declared as surplus, according to the Victorian Government’s ‘land use policy and guidelines’, the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) prepares the site for sale.
The time it takes to market each property can vary, depending on the type and nature of market readiness activities (for example rezoning, native title issues, and remediation) and can take as long as several years.
