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State Significant Development

Determination

Hastings Secondary College Port Macquarie Campus Upgrade

Port Macquarie-Hastings

Current Status: Determination

Interact with the stages for their names

  1. SEARs
  2. Prepare EIS
  3. Exhibition
  4. Collate Submissions
  5. Response to Submissions
  6. Assessment
  7. Recommendation
  8. Determination

Upgrades to Hastings Secondary College Port Macquarie Campus including refurbishment of existing buildings, new buildings and covered outdoor learning areas, new shared use fitness centre, associated tree removal, landscaping and signage.

Consolidated Consent

Consolidated Conditions

Archive

Notice of Exhibition (2)

Request for SEARs (2)

SEARs (1)

EIS (50)

Response to Submissions (14)

Additional Information (9)

Determination (4)

Approved Documents

Management Plans and Strategies (28)

Independent Reviews and Audits (4)

Notifications (5)

Other Documents (2)

Note: Only documents approved by the Department after November 2019 will be published above. Any documents approved before this time can be viewed on the Applicant's website.

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Note: Only enforcements and inspections undertaken by the Department from March 2020 will be shown above.

Submissions

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Showing 1 - 20 of 37 submissions
Heritage NSW – Aboriginal cultural heritage (ACH)
Comment
Sydney , New South Wales
Message
Heritage NSW ACH comments attached
Attachments
Belinda Green
Comment
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
I have significant concerns with the current upgrades being undertaken. While it is great to see a very old and aged facility getting some upgrades, What is happening is not adequate. The school is so aged and has had very minimal maintenance done on the 15 years due to promised upgrades. This upgrade is not enough as it does not encapsulate the whole school. Only components of the school are being upgraded and at the end, and after significant expenditure, we will still be left with a significant amount of infrastructure that is aged and not adequate for a teaching and learning environment in 2021.
In addition to this the modelling that has been undertaken for this project continues to be flawed. We have significantly higher student numbers than what the modelling says- by approximately 100 students. We have maintained student numbers above the model determination numbers for a significant period of times. This must be corrected. The significance of this modelling being incorrect is that the school is loosing important learning places. At this stage the classroom remodelling includes a loss of two science labs to general learning spaces. This is intolerable especially in a very high achieving science and engineering school.
To do this upgrade, the school has had to give up a school oval for demountables. Given that the upgrades will not meet the current and historical student numbers it is concerning that we will need to maintain these demountables after the upgrade is complete, just to have adequate facilities.
The department must act now to address the modelling issues, recognise the additional upgrade work required, ensure we don't loose essential teaching facilities and put in the correct funding to do this upgrade right now. We have waited way too long, have put up with facilities that are broken and out of date for way too long and this needs to be fixed now. We can't afford to keep waiting another 20 years for the rest of the upgrades required and we need the technical teaching classroom numbers, such as our science labs, to stay as they are now.
Phil Baker
Support
BONNY HILLS , New South Wales
Message
Dear Planning NSW,

I would firstly like to thank you for the progress that has been made with the site of Hastings Secondary College - Port Macquarie Campus.
It is exciting to see such a fantastic vision for our local high school.

This is a once in a generation opportunity to bring our loved campus a much needed update and refurbishment. The community is excited about the grand plans.

However, community members, parents and teachers are also dismayed and frustrated that such a major upgrade of our local high school is still not going to accommodate all our students. As the current plans stand we will still be left with demountable classrooms onsite and have key learning areas removed entirely.

The three areas that must be considered for the Port Macquarie Campus rebuild are:

- Making sure the rebuild caters for a minimum of an 800 student population. (The student numbers of Port Macquarie Campus are already exceeding 750 students, planning for the future is critical. Lets ensure the build is done correctly in 2021).
- Ensuring all existing learning spaces are kept or rebuilt across all faculties (e.g. ensuring the same quota of science labs are kept as a minimum without some being taken away).
- Ensuring enough MC (Multi Categorical) classrooms are available. MC classes are confirmed to double from 3 to 6 classes in 2022.

This is an exciting initiative and a once in a generation rebuild.
The community wants this to happen, though they want to ensure this is done correctly with a vision for the future.

Kind regards,
P. Baker.
Meredith Wyatt
Comment
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
While overall I am very supportive of Hastings Secondary College receiving a long overdue and much needed upgrade, I have big concerns about the lack of community engagement and lack of listening to the school and parent community regarding this upgrade. The proposal is still being designed to cater for a school that is at least 70 students smaller than its current enrollment and the majority of the school will not be receiving any upgrades at all with more than 65% of the school remaining with windows that do not open, blinds that do not work and no air conditioning.

Planning for a school with smaller enrollments than it has will mean that there are inadequate facilities - the number of science labs is being reduced, staff rooms will be too small and the school will be left with ongoing need for demountable class rooms to cater for all students. It seems likely that the new facilities for CAPA will not be large enough to cater for the number of students that would like to use them. This issue has been raised on multiple occasions with School Infrastructure. They continue to rely on their modelling, without listening to advice regarding community factors that have a significant impact on enrollments, including long standing drain of students to the private school system that has been triggered by the poor and dated facilities at the public school. The proportion of students being retained in the public system is already being increasing, as evidenced by the strong increase in enrollments in recent years.

Some aspects of this upgrade are very welcome. The new CAPA building and redesigned pedestrian flow through the school will definitely improve the amenity of the school. I understand that the supported learning program is also receiving some excellent upgrades. However a huge proportion of this very dated school is not receiving any upgrades. Classrooms that are now 60 years old are not being renewed or refreshed at all. There is no air conditioning in any part of this school at present (barring one IT room, I'm told). There are no blinds/window coverings that work in the classrooms and mostly the windows do not open - resulting in stuffy classrooms or glare that cannot be controlled, which is especially important for student learning. Studies have shown that students learn best (and teachers function best) when they are in a comfortable environment.

Upgrades that are spending this amount of tax payers money should benefit all students and all faculties within the school that require an upgrade, not just a selected space that is easy to target.
This is the only public high school in Port Macquarie - our students deserve a school where they can learn comfortably and have access to facilities that are modern and fit for purpose.
Please reconsider the scope of this project and at a minimum also include air conditioning, windows that open and blinds that function for ALL the learning spaces in the school, not just the new areas. This school cannot wait for another 20+ years for another upgrade to address what has been ignored in this submission.
Tonia Woodberry
Comment
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
School upgrade SSC feedback
As a parent of a student I am well aware of the need to upgrade Hastings secondary college and I am supportive that funds are spent to upgrade the school because the need is evident. I do have reservations that the budget is insufficient for the upgrade required and that the funds available need to be carefully spent. My primary concern is that the needs of all current students are met and that teachers are listened to regarding the suitability of proposed changes. My second concern is that the upgrade will be appropriate for projected school growth. The P&C has voiced their concerns regarding each of these issues. I also have concerns that consultation regarding the upgrade has been rushed, compromising effectiveness. In the past year parents (myself included) have had limited opportunity to visit the school (due to covid restrictions) meaning parents may be unaware which school buildings require attention. The lack of knowledge and on the ground experience may impact parents ability to comment if they feel out of touch. I suggest consultation would be improved by providing sufficient advanced notice of on-site information sessions held at varied times (to accommodate working parents), which include school tours, preferably with head teachers present for consultation.
A key issue is that I understand the planned works will lead to the loss of one science laboratory meaning that the school will have less capability to deliver practical classes. The loss of a science laboratory means that these works will effectively be a down grade for the school and that is unacceptable. There is a need to retain and refresh the current science labs to encourage and advance participation in science. This need has been stated by the teachers and their voice heard and supported by the P&C.
During my sole tour of Hastings secondary college, the principal advised that the toilets will be upgraded outside the existing outdoor court (year 7 area) and refurbished to be unisex with each toilet having an individual door opening to the outside. The plans as drawn do not seem to show this arrangement but rather indicate a single entry door to 6 toilets, presumably one for males and the other for females. This setup fails to preserve privacy and doesn’t maximise ventilation.
I am told by my child that several windows in classrooms do not open or are not to be opened. I understand there is a need for windows to be fixed or replaced in many building to allow them to open, ventilate and cool classrooms.
Attachments
Maxwell and Janice Browning
Object
ARMIDALE , New South Wales
Message
WE OBJECT TO THE PROPOSAL ONLY ON THE BASIS of the proposed LOCATION at 16 Owen Street, Port Macquarie.
and
WE FULLY SUPPORT THE PROPOSAL ON THE BASIS OF IT BEING ESTABLISHED AT A LOCATION MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE POPULATION IT IS DESIGNED TO SERVICE.
Port Macquarie’s rapid population growth is primarily restricted to the South and the West due to the Hastings River and the Ocean to the east. In planning expenditure of $20,000,000 or more the Government needs to consider where the ever increasing numbers of young people will be living. That answer should ensure the PCYC will be best located to service their clients needs.

REASONS FOR OBJECTION - TO THE PROPOSED LOCATION
*. Isolated in the absolute and already congested corner of Port Macquarie where increased population growth is likely to be more from tourists and retirees than youth
due to cost pressures.

*. Parking is on many occasions already at capacity at various times spread over all seven days of the week.

*. Traffic is already heavy particularly at the north end of Owen Street where it converges with William and Stewart Streets to enter Pacific Drive. No traffic lights or pedestrian crossing. Numerous accidents and Council does not respond to correspondence with requests for improvement.

*. The loss of a Sports Ground to the Port Macquarie School Campus.

*. The hours of operation 6:00am to 10:00pm seven days a week would significantly adversely impact on Owners and residents of 11 Owen Street. The size and scale
Of the building would also destroy the appearance around Port Macquarie’s oval and a scenic tourist attraction. It would also destroy our Unit’s ocean view to the east..

REASONS TO SUPPORT PCYC PROPOSAL FOR ALTERNATE LOCATION
*. The potential community benefits of the proposed PCYC are commendable and the Government will expect assurance that the project is located where it is centrally
accessible to its potential clients both to-day and for the next perhaps twenty years.

*. We presume the ‘catchment area’ will be expected to extend from Port Macquarie west to Wauchope and south to perhaps as far as Laurieton and Kew. If this is correct
then it is likely that Sovereign Hills with its central location and proximately to new schools and playing fields and rapidly growing youth population might be the ideal
practical location for the new PCYC.

While we are pleased to have the opportunity to present our views we must also note the short time window provided for this purpose. The first Notice was an undated June 2021 project update notice letter box drop for an Information Meeting on 15 June 2021. To my knowledge there has been no attempt to communicate with Unit Owners of 11 Owen Street by either post or email. We request the time for submissions should be extended for at least a further two weeks.

Yours faithfully,

M.G.& J.T. Browning
Name Withheld
Object
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission regarding the Hastings Secondary College, Port Macquarie Campus Upgrade.
I have attached my submission regarding the upgrade to this portal.
As detailed in my submission attached, I note that while I have marked on the website submission form that I object to the project, please be advised that there is only one element of the upgrade that I object to, being Stage 3 of the proposal in relation to the development of a shared use multi-sports facility in partnership with the Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) at the proposed site on the Port Macquarie Campus.
I support all the other elements of the Hastings Secondary College Campus Upgrade Proposal and welcome the improvements suggested.
I also welcome the reintroduction of a PCYC facility in Port Macquarie, in a suitable location, where it is demonstrated that this facility also provides the optimal social and economic return on government investment and the best prioritisation of resources, given the important priorities requiring funding by the New South Wales Government.
Included in the attached submission are the reasons for my objection to Stage 3 of the proposal at the site proposed and alternative site options for a PCYC Facility in Port Macquarie that are significantly more closely aligned with delivering an optimal social and economic return on government investment and the best prioritisation of resources, given the important priorities requiring funding by the New South Wales Government
Please contact me using the details I have included on the project portal to discuss further.
Thank you.
Attachments
Derek Archer
Comment
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
Please see attached document.
Attachments
Biodiversity and Conservation Division
Comment
,
Message
BCD comments as per attachment.
Attachments
Mark Stewart
Comment
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
Dear Sir/Madam,

I remain very concerned at the lack of scope of completeness of the proposed upgrade to the Port Macquarie Campus of Hastings Secondary College.

The community consultation and feedback process has been woefully inadequate, with absolutely no community consultation for nearly the whole of 2020. COVID is no excuse, given hundreds of thousands of school children could be educated remotely, there is absolutely no reason Zoom or other remote sessions could not have been implemented. The feed back sessions that have occurred have been done with extremely short notice, with the most recent, a week or so ago, being given only 8 hours. As many members have given feedback on this project already, there is no reason all those people should not have been on a mailing list to inform them directly of proposed feedback sessions, rather than leaving it to the school, which is already managing all the mutlitudinous tasks of educating 700 students.

The feedback which has been given has basically been ignored. The school that will be built will be for approximately100 fewer students that currently attend. The information provided at the most recent session about how this number was arrived at at was so obscure as say almost nothing, apart from (to paraphrase) "these figures are not expected to be accurate, or match actual enrollments." So it is a given that after 2 years of disruption the school will be reliant on multiple demountables to house its population, taking up limited green and outdoor space, and reducing the visual amenity improvements we'd expect after a major upgrade.

The new CAPA and TAS facilities were always important minimum but alone are insufficient. The majority of learning spaces in the school will not be improved. While the improvements to the supported learning capacities are welcome, they will not benefit the majority of students. The core business of the school, teaching science, maths, English and HSIE subjects, will continue to be taught in rooms in the same condition as when they were constructed in the 1960s. They are too small for the class sizes. Many have no functioning windows. There is no air conditioning. There are no functioning blinds in the majority of rooms. They are stiflingly hot in summer and cold in winter. They are not environments conducive to students achieving their best possible academic result. They are bordering on unsafe. I doubt NSW government public service offices would be allowed to be fitted out in this manner.

Not only that, there will actually be a reduction in the available science classrooms. The current best science lab will be removed as part of the plan. This school is meant to be a STEM action school, making this decision hard to believe. The justification for the reduction is, again, based on the dubious modelling of future student numbers, not on current enrollments.

Further, at the beginning of this process the school community was told to expect a specific innovative STEM space and a new library. The current library is manifestly inadequate for student numbers and is unable to fulfill it's role as a place for study and research with specialist teachers as it should.

This upgrade should have been an once in a generation opportunity to provide the students of this school with best practice learning environments enabling them to achieve their best possible educational outcomes. Instead it appears to have become a an exercise in causing maximum disruption for only modest improvements, that will not see the majority to students benefiting in the majority of their classes. The arguments about numbers appear to be misguided, or a cynical exercise in justifying the provision of substandard facility which will further encourage parents to move their children to the private sector and reduce demand and expense to the public.

I strongly urge that this project be significantly expanded to ensure that after the 2 years of disruption finishes with a school that is fit for purpose for the current and future students of Port Macquarie.

Yours faithfully,

Mark Stewart
Name Withheld
Object
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission regarding the proposed Hastings Secondary College Port Macquarie Campus Upgrade.

My wife and I live in unit 7 at 9-11 Owens Street Port Macquarie and object to Stage 3 of the proposal in relation to the development of a shared use multi-sports facility in partnership with the Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) at the proposed site on the Port Macquarie Campus.

The reasons for our objection to Stage 3 are:
- The proposed PCYC facility will negatively impact on our views. The EIS is erroneous in that there has been no consultation with us in relation to the significant detrimental impacts associated with the proposed PCYC development.
- There will be increased traffic, congestion and parking problems in Owen Street which is likely to cause adverse safety and noise issues for residents, school students and other community members and tourists currently using Owen Street. We are particularly concerned about the significantly increased likelihood of fatal accidents occurring at the corner of Owen Street with William and Stewart streets.
- The activities conducted at the proposed PCYC facility will cause unacceptable significant ongoing noise and disruption to us given the facility has proposed operating hours of 6am to 10pm 7 days per week.
- The proposed PCYC facility will be intrusive, given the bulk and scale of the building and does not fit with the scenic open parkland corridor currently surrounding Town and Oxley beaches and which has existed in that area ever since the town was first established.
- The development of the PCYC building on the proposed site will also result in Port Macquarie High School losing a significant portion of the school’s northern field, which school children utilise for sports activities and recreation during the day.

We strongly suggest that the reintroduction of a PCYC facility in Port Macquarie, would be far better suited at the current Port Macquarie Olympic Pool Site in Gordon Street when the
new Port Macquarie Aquatic Centre is completed at nearby Macquarie Park. With plans for Port Macquarie Olympic Pool to move to a new Aquatic Facility at nearby Macquarie Park on Gordon Street, the current Port Macquarie Olympic Pool site would provide an ideal location for the PCYC development as the site provides the opportunity to develop suitable parking infrastructure that will be safer and larger than that available at the proposed PCYC site in Owen Street and the Port Macquarie Olympic Poole site is currently serviced by Gordon Street, a 4-lane arterial road that can safely manage larger volumes of traffic and safer pedestrian infrastructure.
DONALD MCRAE
Object
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
WE WOULD LIKE TO OBJECT TO THE PROPOSAL IN PART, THAT BEING THE PCYC STAGE of the development on the basis that the location at 16 Owen Street, Port Macquarie is most inappropriate on numerous grounds.
THAT SAID, we fully support the rest of the HASTINGS SECONDARY COLLEGE proposal.
The location is far from CENTRALLY located for the area it is designed to service, IT IS CLOSE TO THE COAST which obviously cannot ever be a CENTRAL LOCATION.
This area is populated by more retired people percentage-wise, as well as being the "TOWN BEACH PRECINCT" as identified by Port Macquarie Hastings Council, vs a more centrally located option that would serve a more socio-economic type of clientele that would make use of a substantial PCYC, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY IN NEED IN SUCH AREAS.
PORT MACQUARIE HASTINGS SECONDARY COLLEGE WESTPORT CAMPUS, for example would be far more centrally located, have a much larger population near-bye that would use the PCYC, as well as being MORE EASILY ACCESSIBLE FOR OTHER AREAS SUCH AS SOVEREIGN HILLS, WAUCHOPE LAKE CATHIE and LAURIETON.
These areas are where the MAJOR POPULATION GROWTH is happening currently and will continue to happen.
There are obviously other options which would be far more suitable on this basis as well as others reasons following.

• TRAFFIC. In this area there is already a very high volume of traffic in a (NON DUAL LANE STREET.)
Access to the Eastern side of Owen St must be via the William Street, Stewart Street & Owen Street Intersection, which appears to be the MOST DANGEROUS intersection in Port Macquarie!!

• PARKING is VERY often not available when School is in, Bowling Club Patrons are present and weekend functions are being held at the School Hall, including Sunday Mornings when a Church Group use the Hall (during this time there are NO nearby parking spaces in both Owen AND Gordon Streets, as well as part of Church St).

• AESTHETICS. The current Sports Ground / outdoor grassed area is far more beneficial & healthy for the School Students to be able to interact vs being inside a building.

• NOISE. The proposed hours of operation 6:00am to 10:00pm seven days a week would significantly adversely impact on Owners and residents of La Mer at 11 Owen Street, which is directly opposite the proposed PCYC Building.

• TOWN BEACH PRECINCT. The proposed Building will change the Coastal / Tourist type feeling of the TOWN BEACH PRECINCT, as well as the OXLEY OVAL.

• LACK OF COMMUNICATION. We are most disappointed that the OWNERS of Units in the La Mer Building were not notified when in fact other Strata Plans obviously less affected were in fact notified.
Most owners of these units are “not resident owners”, consequently the Letter Box Drop which apparently occurred, did not in fact reach the owners at all.

We appreciate being able to submit this VERY RUSHED submission. The time for the closing of submissions should be extended by up to one month to allow some Unit Owners who are travelling in remote parts of the country, to be fair to ALL owners at 11 Owen Street.

Yours faithfully,
D.A. & D.J. MCRAE.
ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AUTHORITY
Comment
,
Message
EPA comments regarding EIS attached.
Attachments
Name Withheld
Object
Waverton , New South Wales
Message
Hastings Secondary College Port Macquarie Campus Upgrade - submission

-1- Context. The Oxley Oval precinct (“precinct”) is a wonderful natural feature in Port Macquarie which was founded in 1821. The precinct has been chipped away over the years, particularly with the relatively recent construction of what is now Hastings Secondary College Campus (“campus”). That, unsurprisingly has led to a pattern of additional clutter consistent with the needs of a busy school.

-2- Background. Submissions have been invited in relation to a Development Application for the campus. At the outset it should be recognised that neither the precinct nor the campus should be “all things to all men and women”. In particular, the idea that the schools should be schools (and no more) is at face value persuasive. Likewise, the idea that the precinct should be preserved for current and future generations from further development and “improvement” on the site. In other words, the introduction of a Police Citizens Youth Club should be accorded enormous scrutiny (notwithstanding its being promoted on school land by the Department of Education).

-3- Statutory framework. The NSW Department of Education has used the State Significant Development pathway within the DA approval process. “State significance” should be seen as no more than a label to facilitate the Department’s objective. It does not follow from such labelling that the project as a whole, let alone each of its component parts, has any genuine State significance.

-4- Schools and gyms. Opinions differ on whether schools actually need gyms. 50 years ago very few schools had gyms and that did not seem to stunt students’ normal physical development, overall fitness nor general health. Then gyms became fashionable, but that should not detract from level-headed cost/benefit assessment. My view is that schools simply don’t need gyms. It might also be instructive to ask, in relation to the DA, the following questions. Firstly, how campus students would be likely to use the gym every week? Secondly, how many others (ie not campus students) would be likely to use the gym every week? Thirdly, how many person hours would result from the answers to those two questions? Fourthly, how many weeks each year would the gym be closed? Fifthly, what are the management, insurance, heating and cooling costs per year? (I appreciate that some of these matters go beyond Council’s consideration of the DA, but presumably Council is entitled to look at energy consumption and green energy interplay as part of its remit.)

-5- PCYC

-a- Attendees in many instances will have had quite different life trajectories from campus students.

-b-It is unlikely that crossover between the two groups will be encouraged. In other words, it could result in a form of apartheid, entrenching the “different sides of the street” paradigm which PCYC has tried to lift youth out of. This “us and them” result should, of itself, be enough to can the idea.

-c- In other words, the campus and its nearby areas are demonstrably unsuitable for a PCYC.

-d- Adding to the foregoing, the gym will be open daily from 6:00 AM till 10:00 PM. When you add half an hour either side for people who for social or other reasons arrive half an hour early and those who leave the area half an hour later, that’s 17 hours per day. That’s a lot of noise and disruption.

-e- It is unusual in the extreme for a PCYC to be near a school, let alone being embedded in a school’s immediate environment.

-f- PCYC itself recognises that it is dealing with many ”at risk” young people. That alone calls for an enhanced level of responsibility on the part of Council when considering whether a school location for a PCYC is appropriate.

-6- Other considerations.

-a- The bulk and scale of the proposed building is hostile to nearby residents. The campus design will be sharply out of kilter with beautiful Oxley Park. The architectural style approximates that of brutalism, astonishing for a breezy and beautiful town with heritage of genuine State significance.

-b- “Mission creep” seems to never sleep. Once mistakes are made, the next generation of planners are more likely to add to the mess rather than demand “back to basics”.

-7- And also….

-a- Ask yourself “Who will the PCYC attract and where are they likely to go for an alcoholic beverage?”. The fact that Port City Bowling Club (licensed premises) is a minute’s walk away should be enough in itself to reject the proposal.

-b- However if there remain doubts, then the loss of the school’s northern field should be seen as absolutely intolerable.

-c- Poor social outcomes – the very thing which PCYC are trying to escape – seem guaranteed.

-8- Conclusion.

-a- The reasons against locating a PCYC in the campus are overwhelming Council must not permit it. There are ample alternate sites in the district which would avoid the many problems (direct/indirect contact with school children, noise (17 hours daily), parking pressure (again 17 hours daily in what is already a congested area), proximity to licensed premises and limited public transport.

-b- The preceding points are neither emotional nor NIMBY. I ask Council to give them careful consideration.

23 June 2021
The Group of Owners of The 16 Residential Units at 11 Owen St, Port Macquarie
Object
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission regarding the Hastings Secondary College Port Macquarie Campus Upgrade.

We have attached our submission regarding the upgrade to this portal.

The owners of the 16 residential apartments at 11 Owen Street, Port Macquarie (known as the La Mer building) note that while we have marked on the website submission form that we object to the project, please be advised that there is only one element of the upgrade that we object to, being Stage 3 of the proposal in relation to the development of a shared use multi-sports facility in partnership with the Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) at the proposed site on the Port Macquarie Campus.

We support all the other elements of the Hastings Secondary College Campus Upgrade Proposal and welcome the improvements suggested.

We also welcome the reintroduction of a PCYC facility in Port Macquarie, in a suitable location, where it is demonstrated that this facility also provides the optimal social and economic return on government investment and the best prioritisation of resources, given the important priorities requiring funding by the New South Wales Government.

Included in the attached submission are the reasons for our objection to Stage 3 of the proposal at the site proposed and alternative site options for a PCYC Facility in Port Macquarie that are significantly more closely aligned with delivering an optimal social and economic return on government investment and the best prioritisation of resources, given the important priorities requiring funding by the New South Wales Government

Please contact us using the details included on the project portal to discuss further.

Thank you.
The Owners of the 16 Residential Apartments at 11 Owen Street, Port Macquarie
Attachments
Grant Heaton
Comment
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
The proposed upgrade does not meet the current needs of the school nor future needs. One only has to examine the record of the planning and demographics advisors in the NSW Department of Education to know they often make mistakes. I was principal of Hastings Public School - a feeder school to Hastings Secondary College - and the poor calculations from planners resulted in my school being a focal point for much of what was wrong with the Building the Education Revolution. I was told my school would not grow hence requests for substantial classrooms were rejected when everyone connected with the school could see what was needed. Thankfully, sanity prevailed and the classrooms built under the BER are still being used to provide students with a high standard of accommodation and learning facilities. This was only achieved after a long and draining media campaign.
The NSW government has the chance not to repeat the mistakes of 12 years ago and should provide Hastings Secondary College with the facilities that will meet present and future requirements without the school community having to fight to obtain what everyone knows the college needs.
Robyn Stewart
Comment
RICHMOND HILL , New South Wales
Message
As the grandparent of two socially culturally and intellectually engaged girls currently enrolled at the Port Macquarie Campus of Hastings Secondary College, I feel I must register my dismay at the failure of the planning process in delivering these overdue and neglected refurbishments. How in God's good name could a projected enrolment of at least 100 students less than are CURRENTLY attending the school be of any service as the enrolments continue to rise?
Recently I viewed the new sciences block at Ferny Grove High School in Brisbane where they have built in anticipation of massive population growth and have a robotics room which my elder granddaughter would die for; and she has been a devoted member or the winning robotics team, Hastings Heroes, since her first year in secondary school and has travelled with that team to compete in Houston, USA. She needs the facilities to allow her and the others of her cohort to stretch their STEM wings and become our scientists of the future.
Your forward planning totally fails to make any provision for these students to access the necessary technology.
I personally doubt whether the refurbishments that are being prepared for will deliver her one moment of first grade tuition in what will not be first grade accommodation.
To fail to allow for the swing that is happening to state education from a dissatisfied private sector is a dereliction of duty to our future.
Who in their right minds bases their planning on the figures from the 1970s?
Very little discussion and input came from the parents.
Ian Forrester
Object
ARMIDALE , New South Wales
Message
I have a strong objection to Stage 3 of this project.
Attachments
Kerrie Forrester
Object
NAREMBURN , New South Wales
Message
Object to Stage 3 of the development in an otherwise quiet neighbourhood
Attachments
Name Withheld
Object
PORT MACQUARIE , New South Wales
Message
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission regarding the Hastings Secondary College Port Macquarie Campus Upgrade.
I note that while I have marked on the website submission form that I object to the project, please be advised that there is only one element of the upgrade that I object to, being Stage 3 of the proposal in relation to the development of a shared use multi-sports facility in partnership with the Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) at the proposed site on the Port Macquarie Campus.

I support all the other elements of the Hastings Secondary College Campus Upgrade Proposal and welcome the improvements suggested.

I also welcome the reintroduction of a PCYC facility in Port Macquarie, in a suitable location, where it is demonstrated that this facility also provides the optimal social and economic return on government investment and the best prioritisation of resources, given the important priorities requiring funding by the New South Wales Government.

The reasons for my objection to Stage 3 of the proposal at the site proposed are:

• The activities conducted at the proposed shared use multi-sports facility (PCYC facility), as well as the associated movements to and from the venue will cause unacceptably significant ongoing noise and disruption to the social amenity for nearby residents, during weeknights and across weekends, especially given the facility has proposed operating hours as stated in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of 6am to 10pm, 7 days per week.

• The proposed PCYC facility at that site will be intrusive, given the bulk and scale of the building and does not fit with the aesthetics of the area, which is recognised as a welcoming, scenic open parkland corridor by the Port Macquarie community and is regarded as one of the attractive features for tourists of the Town Beach and Oxley Beach areas of Port Macquarie. These scenic features are regularly promoted as part of tourist campaigns for the area. The scenic nature of the area is a contributing factor as to why local community markets and other regular outdoor events are attracted to the area.

• Further to the above, the proposed PCYC facility impacts on views for local residents with significant adverse visual impacts for some local residents.

• The increased traffic and congestion in Owen Street, Port Macquarie that a PCYC facility at the proposed site will result in. Owen Street is a very busy suburban residential street. I am concerned not only by the increased traffic in Owen Street should a PCYC facility be developed at the proposed site, but also have concerns in relation to the potential safety and noise issues associated with the increase in traffic in the street for residents, school students and the large numbers of community members and tourists currently using Owen Street to access Hastings Secondary College Port Macquarie Campus (Port Macquarie High School), Port Macquarie City Bowling Club, Port Macquarie Town Beach and Oxley Beach precincts, as well as the residences in this area.

• Further to the point above, should the proposed PCYC facility be developed at the proposed site, there will be significantly increased parking congestion and parking capacity constraint issues in the precinct. Parking in Owen Street, Port Macquarie in the residential precinct containing the Port Macquarie High School and Port Macquarie City Bowling Club is currently very often near or at capacity. Increased parking constraints and congestion in Owen Street will also exacerbate significant and concerning issues in relation to the safety of pedestrians and school students in this area.

• Locating a PCYC facility next door to a licenced premise (Port Macquarie City Bowling Club) may create a higher likelihood for poor social outcomes, given a core activity of the PCYC is to work with at-risk youth to break the cycle of disadvantage.

• Locating a PCYC facility at this residential, geographically constrained and busy location does not provide easy accessibility to the facility for the Greater Port Macquarie – Hastings community and the key focus groups the PCYC is aiming to reach. As such this proposal does not align with providing the optimal social and economic return on government investment and the best prioritisation of resources, given the important priorities requiring funding by the New South Wales Government

• The potential missed opportunity to obtain a much better outcome for the Greater Port Macquarie-Hastings community by utilising one of several alternative locations in the area, which I can provide more detail on when contacted, that would be significantly more suitable for a new PCYC facility, while also potentially saving New South Wales residents millions of dollars through the better use of existing infrastructure and avoidance of a potential duplication of facilities.

Further to the above, any savings through the use of existing infrastructure made could be put to much better use to help increase New South Wales Government budgets for areas of critical need such as other school upgrades, increases in New South Wales teacher numbers, New South Wales health care requirements and/or other programs to assist disadvantaged members of New South Wales.

Thank you again for the opportunity to provide this submission.
Please contact me using the details we have included on the upgrade project portal to discuss this submission further.

Pagination

Project Details

Application Number
SSD-11920082
Assessment Type
State Significant Development
Development Type
Educational establishments
Local Government Areas
Port Macquarie-Hastings
Decision
Approved
Determination Date
Decider
Executive Director
Last Modified By
SSD-11920082-Mod-2
Last Modified On
04/04/2023

Contact Planner

Name
Jenny Chu