One of the Hunter's fastest-growing residential corridors could have a new school if plans before Maitland City Council win approval.
St Philip's Christian Education Foundation has lodged a development application for a new 350-student school outside Maitland.
The application seeks approval for St Philip's Christian College Maitland School.
The proposal is for 52 Wyndella Road, a 10.71-hectare parcel of grazing land about 1.5 kilometres northwest of the Lochinvar town centre.
The proposal includes a two-storey junior school building, a single-storey modular building, a canteen, a sports field and hardstand court, car parking, bus bays and a kiss-and-drop zone.
It also proposes a right-turn bay on Wyndella Road.
The site contains open grassland, with two man-made dams located in the middle.
Those would be filled to create the sports field if the plan proceeds.
An out-of-school-hours-care (OOSH) service is also proposed under the application.
It would run from 7am to 8.30am and 3.10pm to 6pm on school days if completed.
St Philip's already operates Hunter campuses at Newcastle, Cessnock, Gosford and Port Stephens, catering for more than 3800 students from Kindergarten to year 12.
Documents show the Lochinvar site would not enroll students beyond year 10.
The estimated development cost sits between $5 million and $20 million, meaning the application is classified as regionally significant.
That classification means it will be determined by the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel rather than Maitland planners and councillors alone.
The site sits within the Lochinvar growth area, the population of which forecaster REMPLAN projects could grow by more than 379 per cent, or an extra 28,482 people, by 2046.
Four urban release areas ring the property, and several large subdivisions have already been approved nearby.
Planning documents state the surrounding growth means the area needs another primary school, noting close to a quarter of Lochinvar's population is aged under 20.
A socio-economic profile of the area suggests some local families are likely to consider private schooling, the documents note.
Maitland City Council's own pre-lodgement records, included in the application, show planning staff pushed back on an earlier "staged" concept.
That would have involved smaller manufactured buildings operating on site during construction of the wider campus.
An earlier pre-lodgement meeting in December 2024 dealt with a smaller concept for 200 to 300 students plus a centre-based childcare facility.
Pre-lodgement documents from St Philip's have also previously flagged an ambition to eventually grow the Lochinvar campus toward a capacity of around 1200 students, from Kindergarten to Year 12.
The existing application does not seek approval for that expansion, and no concept development consent is being formally sought.
The application states the school would generate short-term construction jobs and 30 ongoing staff positions.
The proposal argues it would ease pressure on the local public education system as the Lochinvar and Windella area continues its rapid transition from farmland to suburb.
The plan is expected to be publicly notified by Maitland City Council in the coming weeks.
