By JESSE GRAHAM
BOX Hill Institute’s new Lilydale Community Campus, which will open for classes in early 2015, will be located at a former car dealership in the centre of Lilydale.
The new campus will be located on the corner of John and Hutchison Streets in Lilydale, only hundreds of metres away from the former Swinburne Lilydale campus.
The education provider confirmed the details on Friday, 17 October, and CEO, Norman Gray, said the location was chosen based on a number of criteria.
“It needed to be close to the centre of town, within walking distance of public transport and close to local high schools,” he said.
“We also needed more than 1000 square metres of internal space for our teaching delivery and other facilities, as well as ample parking – this site ticked all these boxes.”
Two full-time staff will be employed by the provider, which is also recruiting internally for a campus co-ordinator, who Mr Gray said will communicate with the wider community to ensure the campus is “meeting the needs of the outer east.”
He said that teaching staff at the new campus would be determined by class sizes.
Around 20 classes will be offered initially in 2015 – with enrolments currently being accepted – though Mr Gray says the campus may offer more classes, depending on the demand.
The provider’s move to the town was announced earlier this month, and bolstered by $2.25 million from the State Government.
Labor’s Deputy Leader, James Merlino and Evelyn candidate, Peter Harris, however, dismissed the announcement as an “insult” to the community, with the Swinburne site still empty.
