With the population of Mudgee and enrolments for the school growing - and no room left to expand in the heart of the town - St Matt's requires greater play space and learning facilities. And last year the project was announced.

The Catholic Diocese of Bathurst has now announced that North Construction and Building has been appointed as an early engagement contractor to begin building the new campus at 48 Broadhead Road, Mudgee. North will be a key partner throughout the entire design process, providing design management input and solutions.

Spanning nine hectares, the proposed campus has been designed around the environmental contours of the landscape and includes sustainable principles, such as water harvesting and the use of economic and innovative building materials.

Workshops are currently underway to finalise the concept design, which will include state-of-the-art, purpose-built spaces for vocational education and training (VET), dedicated hospitality rooms with café facilities and flexible teaching places.

There will also be the opportunity to expand current subjects such as primary industries, agriculture and construction, and feature specialist facilities in these subjects with industry links.

The proposed secondary campus will also have facilities that could be used by the broader community out of school hours. And will include a chapel, sporting capacities, multipurpose hall and music, drama and art facilities.

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The junior school will remain at the Lewis Street site for the present time.

A State Significant Development Application is expected to be lodged with the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in early 2020.

The Catholic Diocese of Bathurst has said that it's committed to staying in regular contact with community and stakeholders. During the design and construction process, there will be communication and engagement activities undertaken to inform the community of the progress of the project.

Pop up information sessions will be held at Town Centre Shopping Centre, Mortimer Street, Mudgee on;

The project marks another major development for the school, which earlier this decade carried out a major facelift of the Lewis Street location and more recently expanded to Years 11 and 12.

More information can be found at stmatthewssecondarycampus.com