Educators have revealed plans for a kindergarten next to a future primary school as demand ratchets up in Huntly.
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They have asked the City of Greater Bendigo's permission to build an early learning centre big enough for 99 children and 11 staff.
The kindergarten would rise on vacant land at Pasley Street, right in the heart of the suburb, Catholic Education Sandhurst director Paul Desmond said.
"There is demand almost immediately for early learning so we are trying to follow the public need and want as soon as we can possibly get it up and running," he said.
Below: the site of the proposed school and kindergarten.
The kindergarten on the Rennie Street side of the land could be built by the end of 2024 and start taking enrolments in 2025.
The idea would be to then build a primary school on the opposite end of the 14 acre site.
Primary school could rise just in time
The land itself was once used for poultry farming but has been vacant in recent years.
The current plan would see the kindergarten building finished first so that children could spend a year there, then transition straight into the inaugural primary school class in 2026.
"It makes sense to go early learning, then prep, grade one and let the school grow along those lines," Mr Desmond said.
Educators would eventually want permission to teach 650 students on site.
The kindergarten would be a single-storey modular building with three learning spaces and an outdoor play area area. A portion of the build would be set aside for maternal child health.
The primary school would include one school building, a car park and sports field. The education office already has council permission to build it, just not the kindergarten.
School, kindergarten part of wider transformation
Huntly's population is expected to double by 2026 and areas very close to the proposed kindergarten could change even sooner.
The Huntly Hotel wants a major renovation to keep up with projected demand from families in the area.
It recently revealed a separate but interlinked idea to build a 25 unit motel across the other side of the Midland Highway, while a separate group recently opened a petrol station overlooking the main business strip.
The council is considering the kindergarten planning application and is expected to make a decision at a later date.
This story was updated at 11am. An earlier version incorrectly stated that the school would eventually be expanded to include year seven to 10 students, and that it would eventually have room for 640 students, not 650.
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
