Palmwoods should have its own high school. But now land is scarce

Member for Glass House, Andrew Powell MP, addressing the PCBA meeting on September 8.

PALMWOODS should probably have had its own high school, according to Glass House MP Andrew Powell, who says a secondary school and the approved Coles supermarket could dramatically reduce the number of local families travelling out of town.

Mr Powell made the candid observation after discussion at Tuesday night’s PCBA meeting turned to the impact the Coles development could have on local traffic and businesses. “If governments had their time again, they might have built a high school at Palmwoods, or Woombye,” he said.

Mr Powell said his experience representing Woodford showed how a school could influence where families spent their time and money. 

Teenagers travelling elsewhere for school also tended to find jobs, play sport and socialise in those communities, he said, drawing their parents and their spending with them. “The Coles and a high school are probably the two things that Palmwoods need to just make us a community in our own right,” he said.

Mr Powell said the supermarket could significantly reduce congestion by reducing the number of Palmwoods residents driving to do major grocery shopping elsewhere. “The amount of traffic you’re going to save going under the underpass by putting the Coles in Palmwoods on that side of town is extraordinary,” he said.

Both Mr Powell and Mr Hunt agreed the proposed supermarket remains a divisive issue for Palmwoods and that any development of that scale brings both opportunities and challenges for the community.

Mr Hunt said during door-knocking at the last election he found the town was split 50-50 on the topic.

The Planning and Environment Court approved the full-line supermarket earlier this year after Sunshine Coast Council had previously rejected the proposal. 

While the high school discussion drew interest from residents, Mr Powell made no suggestion that a new school was planned.

He said a petition for a Palmwoods high school had been raised with him several years ago but finding suitable land remained the main hurdle.

Palmwoods had effectively used the available urban footprint identified for the town, he said, leaving few obvious sites large enough for a secondary school.