A slice of the former Forbury Park racecourse in Dunedin looks set to be used to give St Clair School more space.
The Ministry of Education has moved to acquire about 5000sqm, or 0.5ha, of the 12ha site under the Public Works Act.
The primary school borders the course and the proposed purchase would double the playing area of the school, principal Jen Rodgers said.
She was delighted by the ministry’s move and said extra playing space was much needed.
The school has a roll of about 400 pupils, expected to grow to about 450 by the end of the year, but the school’s footprint is just 1.1ha.
"Our football field has three or four games going at once," Ms Rodgers said.
Acquiring the extra space would be game-changing, she said.
The ministry confirmed the school required additional property, but did not provide further details.
Information about the planned acquisition was provided by Harness Racing New Zealand, which is involved in the Forbury Park sale process.
Forbury Park became surplus to the racing industry’s requirements from August last year.
Options for the site include flood mitigation and wetlands, development of housing, and retention of some buildings.
It is understood expansion of the school grounds would not result in any rethink regarding a possible housing development on the remainder of the land.
Forbury Park Trotting Club chairman Craig Paddon said enabling expansion of the school grounds had long been anticipated.
The broader sale process has not been galloping along, although it appeared to have picked up some momentum recently.
Harness Racing New Zealand corporate services manager Liz Bishop said an archaeological assessment had been carried out at Forbury Park and there were no issues to report.
The site was in the process of having a valuation prepared.
"When the valuation is finished we will then assess our options on whether we continue to negotiate with potential purchasers or go to the market," Ms Bishop said.
"There are complicated issues at play here, which is why it is taking longer than we originally expected to complete the sale."
