Construction To Commence on Lane Cove Public School Hall

Just days before the Term One 2020 school year commenced, a massive fire destroyed the Lane Cove Public School Hall, which included the school canteen.

Due to the quick actions of NSW Fire and Rescue, the fire was contained to the School Hall and Canteen. The loss of the canteen had a significant impact on the school as the canteen serves over 24 000 meals a year.

The fire was a significant blow for the school and the wider community. C3 Church Lane Cove had been using the hall on Sundays for over 20 years, and their sound systems and other equipment were stored in the hall. Extracurricular activities like the music programme, language lessons, drama lessons and fencing lessons were also held in the hall. Read more about the fire here.

Two years later construction will start on the new school hall.

Construction to Start Immediately On New School Hall

The new school hall will be built on the site known as ‘The Bullring’.

NSW Schools Infrastructure has appointed the Lloyd Group as the head contractor. The Lloyd Group worked on the Brookvale Public School Hall, and the Lane Cove Public School hall is an upscaled version of the Brookvale Public School Hall.

Today marked an important milestone at Lane Cove Public School with the official turning of the sod. Subject to weather conditions, construction is to start immediately, and it is hoped that the building will be completed within nine months.

However, during the COVID19 pandemic, construction projects have been delayed due to multiple reasons, including:

• supply chain disruptions;
• shortages of building materials; and
• labour shortages.

At the official sod turning was Member for Lane Cove Anthony Roberts

The project will deliver a new hall and a covered outdoor learning area (cola).

A new replacement canteen has been finished and is located on the site of the previous hall.

Mr Roberts said he was thrilled that the project had reached this critical milestone for the Lane Cove Public School community.

“I’m very pleased to be here at Lane Cove Public School today with students and teachers to celebrate the start of construction of the hall to replace this vital school infrastructure that was unfortunately destroyed in a fire,” Mr Roberts said.

“This project to rebuild the infrastructure here at Lane Cove Public School is very important to the local community, and I look forward to seeing the new facilities taking shape in the coming months.”

Lane Cove Council to Provide Free Parking for School Staff

As part of the construction work, the Lane Cove Public School staff parking area has been turned over to the Lloyd Group for use by construction vehicles and facilities, meaning staff did not have a place to park onsite.

There is only limited street parking around the school, which means teachers would be forced to pay for parking in the Lane Cove Council car parks at a daily rate.

Mr Roberts advised that Councillor David Brooks-Horn raised the staff parking problem with the Lane Cove Council. Council agreed to provide teachers with 17 car spaces in nearby Lane Cove Market Square.

These car spaces will be provided free of charge to school staff for the duration of the build, saving staff an estimated $22,000 in parking fees.

“These car spaces are the essence of what local council is about. This is council getting back to basics, recognising a problem in the community and finding a solution.” Mr Robert said.

Traffic and Construction Noise

Truck movements will be scheduled to outside school drop-off and pick-up times, where possible, to minimise disruption to students and staff.

The construction hours for this project are between 7 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays from 8 am and 4 pm. There will be no construction on Sundays or Public Holidays unless otherwise notified.

It’s been difficult for teachers and students to operate without a purpose-built hall, so let’s hope there are limited delays to the construction timetable.

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