'Nothing has moved' on former Quirindi TAFE site at centre of by-election battle

Having retained the seat for the Nationals, Mr Layzell told The Leader that, like many things, the issue has become a "casualty" of COVID and there had been no progress on determining the site's future.

It has been vacant since 2017 when the Connected Learning Centre opened in Quirindi, and a number of uses have since been touted, including turning it into an aged care centre.

However, a successful bid is yet to materialise and it remains in the hands of the NSW government.

It is also likely to stay that way well into next year, according to Mr Layzell.

"Nothing has moved on that one, and that's probably just one of the casualties as there are many of COVID," he said.

"Because while we're all focused on trying to deal with community issues in terms of COVID and giving it all of our effort, it means that a lot of those really good ideas have just sat there waiting for more effort and energy to be put into them.

"And the way it's going, I think 2022 is going to be a focus for looking at 'what can we do with that facility'."

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Mayor of Liverpool Plains Shire Council Doug Hawkins said local government wasn't looking to stick their nose into the matter too much.

But he does hope a solution is found soon and the site, which he believes is one of the most valuable in the area, is utilised for something constructive to the town.

"My own personal belief is there's potential there for a private enterprise to make a development out of it, we're crying out for affordable housing here," he said.

"As far as the site goes, it's one of the better sites in the township itself, it's up out of the flood zone, it's flat, it's got all of the facilities connected to it with electricity, sewerage and all the rest of it.

"So as far as the site can be developed, it's a walk up start, but it depends on what they can purchase it for off the state."

Mr Layzell said he was actually looking forward to sinking his teeth into some more community issues, having dealt mainly with COVID since taking over the role in May.

Given so much of his focus has been on managing lockdowns and pushing vaccinations, he admitted he still had his "training wheels" on when it came to handling other issues.

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