Lauren
Crimp Political reporter
ACT
Party leader and Epsom MP David Seymour is campaigning on
the government buying Auckland University’s Epsom campus to
create a new school.
The campus has been empty for
years, and the university wants to sell it.
Seymour
said the principals and boards of nearby Auckland Grammar
School and Epsom Girls’ Grammar school approached him in
July, saying they wanted to co-sponsor a co-educational high
school on the land.
“Since their approach, I have
sought assurance from the Minister of Education the land
will not be sold in the immediate future,” he
said.
“The cost of the land is substantial, I have
also asked the minister to investigate other land holdings
the Ministry of Education has that might be sold to cover
the cost. For example, the ministry bought a substantial
piece beside Alexandra Park in the 1990s that has not been
used.”
The new, unzoned school would take pressure off
the existing schools’ rolls without changing their zoning –
so people currently in zone for the grammars would still be
able to attend them.
Seymour said using the land for
education would ensure the property remained open green
space.
“Everyone accepts that central Auckland will
intensify over time, but more terraced housing and
apartments makes it even more important that green spaces
and local facilities like schools are
provided.”
Seymour said he would tell the next
government it is a critical project for his
community.
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