Minarah College

There are a number of serious concerns I have in relation to this proposal for a school in Catherine Field.
I lived in Catherine Field for 32 years prior to moving in 2023, away from the area. Whilst I do not object to progress as we were surrounded by development this has caused an increase in traffic, poor road quality, lack of stormwater management and no plans for sewerage management planned for the near future. This was difficult for a resident on a rural lot, without adding #1000 people onto a 10 acre lot, which is not zoned for such a development and has no supporting infrastructure.
1. The issues faced as recent as March 2022 with flooding and road closures, is a serious risk when there are #1000 people that may need to be evacuated. I lived across the road from the proposed site, and experienced flash flooding from the road. I had no risk of flooding from the creek, however in 32 years that was the closest the water had come to entering my house, which was coming from the runoff of water from the properties to the east (the site of the school) and the road. Police attended to ensure our safety. I have a real concern if there is another event of this type, which is highly likely. The outlined proposed evacuation plan although not recommended in the report, is to walk children from the school to the community hall. The hall is 1klm to the south and holds approx 120 people which is appropriate for local residents but certainly not a viable option for school children at any of the proposed 4 stages. There are no footpaths, the ground is uneven and Catherine Fields Road is normally closed at the north end which means the children would be dodging traffic during the evacuation, which would be a serious safety risk to the community along with the children, teachers and staff at the school.
2. Another concern is the proposal of the sewerage management, where the EMA takes up 2 acres of the 10 acre site. Most of which is the sports field, and in stage 4 the EMA is between 2 buildings. I have recently installed a wastewater management system which is required to be a safe distance from buildings, water storage such as dams with warning signs required to be placed on my fence warning of the water being an output of the wastewater management system. The proposal is to make this field available to the community, however effluent from 1000 people pumped onto such a small area does not seem viable. I consulted with the inspectors of my wastewater management treatment service, and after reviewing the plans they have advised it would constantly be boggy and would not be suitable as a sports field. There are strict guidelines for such a system, with approval required by way of a S68 from council, which I don't see that this report has addressed.
3. There are many points raised in the original proposal which have not also been addressed.
These include, but not limited to:
Way of Life for the existing residents will be impacted, noise emissions, noise intrusions along with additional traffic to local streets, as it is clear that most of the children will be coming from outside of the Catherine Field area.
Traffic to and from the school, with only 30 kiss and drop spots and insufficient parking.
The Preliminary Overflow Assessment has had no further site inspections since 2021, and has not considered the issues experienced in the floods in March 2022. The runoff of stormwater is still planned to be crossing under the road in 2 places either side of the proposed school, from east to west and down the road, which has not coped with the current flow. This water then flows through the properties to the west of the school. The preliminary report states that the existing roadside swale and culvert crossing is insufficient to cope with the 1% AEP flood event in these 2 locations. The 1% AEP flood depth has a maximum depth of 1.1metres with a 1.3 metre flood depth at the culvert crossing. This cannot be viable for children or anyone to cross which is what caused multiple road closures in 2022.
The reports are misleading and talks to a preferred shelter in place strategy on the school grounds, however further on in the report it talks to being able to shelter in place for 7 to 8 hours in a day. Should the flood occur in early morning this may be appropriate, however if this occurs prior to the children leaving for the day, this would mean a shelter in place well into the night, with further risks should an evacuation to the local community hall which is 1klm away, would be required. This I believe is not supported by the SES.
The local remaining residents are also concerned about the cost of the required infrastructure and the potential direct cost to the existing rate payers in Camden Council area.
There are so many concerns and inconsistencies in the reports, which have not been addressed. Poor planning in this case could be a massive cost to the community, and potentially to the lives of those travelling through Catherine Field, not the least of those the children attending the school.

To whom it may concern I would like to lodge my objects to this project of Minarah College application SSD-30759158.
There are many issues in the submissions by Minarah College or any other schools that may want to come to this area it is still classified as a small rural hamlet. It has been stated that there will be upgrades to Catherine Field Road but my understanding it will only be directly in front of the school and the rest of the road will be as is, this particular road is fixed or repaired anywhere up to 6 times each year, the road is narrow and no footpaths it has blind corners , crests ,is narrow and poorly constructed requiring regular maintenance. The capacity to handle large volumes of vehicles is unsafe and not practical and my understanding is all the children will be bused or transported by family to this school making the road more dangerous with people parking on the side of the road, there will be morning and afternoon traffic jams. Camden Council has said there will be no change to this road in the foreseeable future. This will make dangerous conditions even for egress of emergency vehicles needing to come to the area or travel through. There has been many accidents and a fatality on this road in the past.
The onsite waste water management and on site sewerage treatment plant (EMA effluent management area) 1.This site is located in a flood zone which runs into a stream that goes directly to drinking water facility , the surrounding properties will have an increase in excessive runoff from this school and increase in water that is diverted to Catherine Fields Road which is often unpassable and closed due to flood- how then do the children and staff leave the grounds when the roads are closed?? would the be made to walk through flood water ?? to where ??. 2. The EMA is going to be onto the outdoor play areas and sporting field, this is neither hygienic and surely not allowable by Health Department or Council standards.
The understanding of the application is that there will be hiring of the hall and will have noise and lights constantly in use until 10 pm at night , there will be hiring out of the buses used by the school for other issues . does this not then become a bus depot/ transport company. This then makes the proposal not only a school but also an commercially run business. This is unrealistic and unsuitable in a rural setting, my family and my neighbours will be hugely impacted by lack of privacy, continual noise and lighting impacting sleep our health , mental health and well being. Catherine Field currently have a hall and sports field in our small rural hamlet that is able to used and hired out we have no need for another such structure in this area.
The staff they have said is required for this number of children is inconsistent in comparison to the other college at Green Valley that has roughly same amount of students but 90 staff ; it only makes sense to believe 51 staff will not be enough.
in conclusion I object to this proposal of Minarah College in the Catherine field area.
Who will be funding this project?? does it mean that people who live in this council area will have to be funding this ??
I am a concerned ratepayer of this area and have lived here for 20 years plus, the information that is supplied does not match up a huge amount of infrastructure is needed for this project and it appears it will not be funded by the consortium?
The rural roads are not safe for large numbers of vehicles , they are unsafe and unsuitable.
The application appears to be dual purpose being a school and a business venture , wanting to operate numerous money making issues, wanting to operate 7 days a week a lot of the time outside of school hours and up till 10 pm at night .
Their will be no positive social impact for our community, it will be servicing people from other LGA's and all the children will be bused or driven by family to this establishment. There are better suited areas with zoning; infrastructure , sewerage and forward plans for schools. Therefore this would be a travesty to the local area .
I oppose the proposed Minarah College being built in the Catherine Fields area.

Thank you

Please find attached Opposal to the proposed project

(1) Do not support Islam faith.
(2) Concerned about the traffic effects on the road I live on with the possible introduction of this school.
(3) Concerned about the impact on the environment.
(4) Concerned about noise levels.
(5) Concerned about pollution.
(6) Concerned about the impact an Islamic school will have on our suburb being a community mainly of Christian's.
(7) Concerned about the impact on neighbouring properties.
(8) Concerned about the impact on the limited resources available in Catherine Field.

(1) Do not support Islam faith.
(2) Concerned about the traffic effects on the road I live on with the possible introduction of this school.
(3) Concerned about the impact on the environment.
(4) Concerned about noise levels.
(5) Concerned about pollution.
(6) Concerned about the impact an Islamic school will have on our suburb being a community mainly of Christian's.
(7) Concerned about the impact on neighbouring properties.
(8) Concerned about the impact on the limited resources available in Catherine Field.

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express my concerns regarding the proposed construction of a new school in our rural community. While I understand the importance of educational facilities, I believe that building a school in this location could have several negative impacts on our community and environment.
Firstly, the rural character of our area is vital to the well-being of its residents. The introduction of a school would lead to significant increased traffic, noise, and potential disruption of our peaceful surroundings. This could significantly alter the quality of life for those who have chosen to live in this tranquil environment.
Secondly, I am concerned about the environmental implications of such a development. The construction could threaten local wildlife habitats and lead to habitat fragmentation. I already pick up many dead kangaroos, turtles, possums, lizards and various birds off the road having being hit by cars. Our community values its natural resources, and preserving these areas should be a priority.
Moreover, I believe that existing schools in nearby towns can accommodate students from our area without the need for a new facility. Investing in enhancements to these schools could be a more effective use of resources, fostering collaboration rather than spreading our limited funds thin and there is also a shortage of teachers thereby taking teachers away from public schools. They also want to bus students in from far away, therefore this clearly shows that they will not be able to get people in this area to come here, therefore they should put the school where people of this religion are living. It’s probably because the land is cheaper here than in liverpool/bankstown.
Lastly, community input is crucial in decisions that affect our environment and way of life. I urge the council to hold a public forum to gather feedback from residents and to consider alternatives that align better with the community's needs. Come visit our tranquil town to see that this school is not the place for it.
You just have to drive down Bringelly road at 8.20 in the morning and you can see how the school built on 4th ave is impacting the traffic all the way blocking Bringelly road.
There is also no sewer system and their pump out idea will simply not be sufficient to maintain a safe environment for staff and students and neighbours .
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I hope you will take our concerns seriously and reconsider the proposed school construction.

(1) Do not support Islam faith.
(2) Concerned about the traffic effects on the road I live on with the possible introduction of this school.
(3) Concerned about the impact on the environment.
(4) Concerned about noise levels.
(5) Concerned about pollution.
(6) Concerned about the impact an Islamic school will have on our suburb being a community mainly of Christian's.
(7) Concerned about the impact on neighbouring properties.
(8) Concerned about the impact on the limited resources available in Catherine Field.

I believe Minarah College definitely shouldn't be built, as I come to visit my kids and grandkids and have lived in the area for many years and the roads can not hold any more traffic as the streets are busy enough as it is. People also have to go to work and with the school rush it will be even harder to get home. The area is also prone to flooding and the school will cause more flooding from the runoff. This school will effect everyone in the community as everyone is close and this will cause people to move away and instead of being a relaxed community everything is rushed. This school will only create more problems such as issue with the wifi (which is already really bad), sewers, over use of electricity etc. There are also no pathways which makes it very dangerous for children to walk home, also our streets and parks are dirty enough with teenagers and kids throwing there rubbish everywhere.

This development lacks the necessary infrastructure to be able to accommodate such a large structure and the coming of the large crowds everyday without a substantial impact on the environment and residents.
This extremely large school does not align with the current land use in Catherine field primary production small lots. This school does not suit this land use and is not going to any time soon. Can we just ask to build whatever we want wherever we want if we have alot of money to build it and people to help us get around the rules. It only seems to be ruining the current outlook of our quiet town.
This area is not a growth area and is already attracting way too much traffic for a rural road than it can handle, hence the state of our roads, especially after it rains. They opened the road (Copper Drive) from the huge development of Oran Park to allow traffic to cut through Catherine Field, this has significantly increased traffic in the area, which has further destroyed our already fragile roads. Minarah College has made it clear that the roads would need to be repaired but have stated they are not paying for the millions of dollars for these necessary improvements to the road in order to accommodate a school that is not needed for the area. Furthermore, when we experience heavy rain (which is more often than not these days) these roads in Catherine Field flood badly. Some need closing - See map
This is especially the case in front of the proposed site. It is like a river and only one car can drive in the middle of the road at a time down the centre of the road. Also all dirt and rocks are washed onto the road and it constantly needs clearing from the council. Look at the repair log for catherine fields roads, i am sure you will be shocked. This Flooding will only increase if this development is approved as there is NO storm water collection, no drains, gutters etc. and with their huge roofs and concrete covering the grounds where they would normally absorb the water. Also the school located on a hill where the rain will have no where to go but to go on the road and the surrounding properties even more than it does now. This will be a very dangerous combination during school pick up/drop off/ start of a sporting/religious event for the schools full functioning sporting grounds and event calendar. With cars/ people and flooding - sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Also due to the fact that there will be very minimal parking area MANY cars will be trying to park along the street and walk into the facility further blocking the road and clear visibility of other cars entering and exiting. I see alot of accidents happening, even deaths. Trees often fall on the roads too because of the soft ground from all the constant wet/flooding.
Flooding reports must be assessed as even if they have water tanks, with the size of the roof and the covered ground there will be next to zero water being absorbed into the soil and when the water tanks are full which can happen very quickly with a big downfall what will they do with the extra water then?? Oh thats right it will be the residents problem all around them and the road users.
The amended plan has reduced student numbers by 600 students but the construction has only a 1363m 2 reduction. It does not seem right that they would only reduce it by this much. It seems that they are still trying to build at a large scale to hopefully increase numbers once it is built, a change which then does not have to be assessed by the dept of planning, very sneaky.

There is no capacity for the waste water at all! And i know on my property I have to have alot of land to service my house, they couldnt possibly have enough land to get rid of the waste water with the amount of people expected to be here everyday 7am to 10pm!! EVERYDAY!
What happens when they have events on where parents come to the school, where are they suppose to park and use the bathroom, this would create even more wastewater and parking issues.

I visit this area often to visit children and grandchildren and everyone in the community can clearly tell that the roads will not be able to with stand a school let alone a school with over 900 kids. Not to mention that this area floods easily especially in front of those properties, no pathways for kids to walk to school or even a bus stop so its a very dangerous journey for the infants and the area does not have the correct infrastructure to support such a thing.

I oppose to any school including this school to be built on my street, which is a rural road that cannot handle this type of traffic or water run off. This is not zoned for a school, go somewhere else. They are trying to buy cheap land and ruin the lives of all that live around it for profit. It does not fit it in area.
Please ensure that you go out and visit this site and drive around and have a good look before you decide to approve this.
Submission relating to: SSD‐30759158
Based on the information provided in the EIS and Supporting Appendices, I OBJECT to the development.
Page 36
Heath & Wellbeing
The guidelines pose the questions of potential impacts to health and wellbeing.
• Will community health be improved by public access to school facilities, eg sport facilities?
• Will there be benefits from better active transport and the ability of local children to live near the school.
There was not answer or response to either of these questions.
The report mentions that the proposed development does not generate any negative impacts in terms of health and wellbeing, however no detail is provided to justify or support this statement. – This again was not answered correctly and maybe people in similar situations need to be surveyed to assist with the impacts, not assumptions being made.
Can the Camden LGA use any of these facilities on the grounds and how will this be accessed. Where is the recreational areas for the community not the students. – this question has been incorrectly answered.
The report calls out temporary health impacts generated associated with noise disturbance, demolition and construction, however does not cover the impacts of having a school in a rural residential area and the impacts to health and well being for the residents, once the school has been built. There will be a huge impact on the local community that is not being addressed. The continual frustrations of the school impacting our everyday lives – Traffic, noise, damage, accidents, impacts on local fauna (road kill), not understanding why this has been approved when it clearly does not fit in with the local environment.
The report does not refer to the impacts called out by the report on Page 23 of this report, which states that it has potential social impacts to the properties immediately surrounding the site, but provides no detail on the distances associated with the impacts.

Decision making systems
Guidelines point out the importance of the local community to be informed about decisions.
• Can affected people make informed decisions and feel they have power to influence project decisions, including elements of project design.
There has been extremely limited engagement with the local community, as called out in response to comments on Page iii, Community consultation. This is extremely frustrating for the local community. The phone number given to contact the man running the project is never answered and has no voicemail. And when one of the community members went to drop off some papers to him, no one in the office knew who he was or where he was located and she had to wait for over 40mins for them to even accept the papers. This strongly shows the lack of engagement with community and seems very suspicious that he is actually avoiding speaking with anyone.

Page 37
The report says there would be provision of buses for students to travel, however earlier in the report it mentions that 80-90% of students travel by private vehicle.
There are no existing or proposed bicycle pathways in the area and no ability for safe cycling to and from the school, however council has requested parking for 48 bicycles. No one could safely ride down Catherine field road and furthermore their isn’t enough people in the local area that would go to this specific type of school according to the census – we do not need to cater for this group in this area – therefore more traffic from out of area onto our ruined rural road.


Surroundings
Page 39
The report states with no further information or explaining or justification that there will be NO safety issues, however points out there are no foot paths, no cycle ways, increased traffic from both trucks during construction that will also continue when the school opens due to the planned stages, to an already busy road that is full of potholes and you have to drive all over the road to try and not damage your car. Being a rural area there are still people walking in the area, riding horses and walking dogs.


This school is not inclusive of diverse groups such as groups from the LGBTQIA + community. This is a very emerging group that needs acceptance in the community. It states that their school with cater for boys and girls only. What if a non binary student wants to enrol in this school? Will the school be including facilities such as non gendered toilets and change rooms to cater for this group.

Background:
EIS page 10 mentions that “The intended outcomes of the project are to:
• reflect Islamic and Fijian and indigenous cultural beliefs
• provide educational opportunities to the local community”
Response:
As mentioned above, according to the ABS Census 2021 data, how does it serve the community by providing an educational institution for a Fijian Muslim community that does not exist in Catherine Field? Clearly the Catherine Field rural community is being asked to tolerate a development to serve a community that resides outside of Catherine Field. There is no benefit to the local community for this school other than total disruption to the quiet life in which we moved to this area for. The local community will benefit none from this school.

Furthermore, there is an increasing teacher shortage in NSW. Taking teachers away from pubic schools that cater for everyone should be more of a concern to the government. Rather than building a school that is not needed in a rural area where teachers will travel from out of area to attend, taking much needed teachers away from schools in their local area.

SEARs 13 Stormwater and Wastewater
Background
Although individual reports have been provided for “Overland Flow” and “Waste Water” there is no Integrated Water Management plan attached to the EIS. This point will predominantly focus on “Appendix U Waste Water”.
Point Raised in EIS or
Appendix Submission
Appendix U Page 15: Design assumes 5 days of site use and waste water generation and 7 days of effluent irrigation as we are advised there is not site use which generated wastewater on the weekend. How can the "Flow balancing system" operate? Irrigation should be designed on the day of generation not an average of 5 out of 7 days? It seems misleading and advantageous to the applicant that the flow from 5 days of school operation is evened out over 7 days to save on waste water irrigation design
Appendix U Page 19: Subject to ongoing flow monitoring at the site it may be possible that Stage 3 EMAs are able to be accommodated in the design if per person flow data for the site is lower than the adopted design values. It is misleading to assume that Stage 3 may go ahead without sewage
infrastructure in place. The community demands that a condition of
consent which limits the number of students and teachers allowed on the site until such time that a sewer connection is put in place. This is to prevent “development creep” and provide transparency regarding what is to take place.
On one hand the report talks of effluent irrigation being a temporary
measure until a sewer is connected prior to Stage 3, and on another hand, the system may be used under stage 3 pending a review of daily flow usage.
Also, the development should not proceed until there is a commitment
from Sydney Water on the date that a sewer connection will be made
available and that the sewer connection will be available to all residents of Catherine Fields.

As it is islamic project so we really support this project.

The roads won’t handle the increased volume of traffic at drop off and pick up times
The is no safe egress and access for busses
Building too large for the area
Too much noise created through the hiring of halls and fields at school until 10pm 7 days a week

The site is not connected to any main sewerage and it’s not acceptable to having students playing on top of sewerage pump out area.
The reports show conflicting information throughout
Traffic problems, the school is a charity and therefore does not need to pay for upgrades to the surrounding roads only immediately in front of school so who will pay.

The safety of students being built in flood zone and the safety plan not adequate
No kerb,guttering or street lights

after reviewing Karen Harragon's letter dated 9 September 2024 to Minarah College, I would like to question that the school will only have a maximum of 980 students and 51 full-time equivalent staff? The staff numbers vary throughout each report ranging from 51 to almost double of '99 indicative operational jobs' as submitted by the Treasurer of Minarah College on 5 September 2024. Exactly how many staff will be employed? If it is 99, There will be insufficient parking spaces and this will also impact the effluent management area and traffic numbers in the report.

Also after reviewing Karen Harragon's letter dated 3 May 2023, she says that the maximum capacity of student numbers for the site is 650 to enable on-site effluent management without connection to reticulated sewage. The staging plans for the effluent management area for 980 students shrinks as the stages progress and are tbc in many plans. Also, why is the amended application for 980 students and not the recommended 650 students?

"The Department reiterates that the Catherine Fields precinct is yet to be rezoned or released for
urban development. This is acknowledged in the RtS which states that consultation between the
Applicant, Council and the Department’s Western Parkland City team has confirmed that precinct
planning is not being undertaken, nor is it being prioritised in this part of the SWGA."

"Council’s submissions on the EIS and RtS further
acknowledge that Catherine Fields Road is a rural road with no shoulder, formed kerb and gutter,
footpath, lighting or piped underground stormwater drainage system".

". Another key concern raised by the Department and Council is
the absence of any established pedestrian footpaths or safe crossing points along Catherine Fields
Road needed to support the proposed school development"

"The Department notes that there is no commitment from the Applicant to undertake road upgrades
or provide adequate footpaths beyond the site frontage. While it is acknowledged that the
application is exempt from contributions under the Camden Contributions Plan 2011, this does not
preclude the Applicant from proposing a works-in-kind agreement or offering to enter into a
voluntary planning agreement with Council to provide a contribution towards infrastructure that
would be needed to support the proposed development".

"The staged development would be dependent upon the site and locality being subject to significant
servicing and infrastructure upgrades by Council at a time that is currently unknown".

"Having considered the advice from Sydney Water, the Department is not satisfied that adequate
arrangements are in place for the delivery of water and wastewater infrastructure to service the
completed development. This is on the basis that there is currently no commitment from Council to
rezone the Catherine Fields precinct and confirmation from Sydney Water that the necessary
infrastructure will not be provided to the precinct prior to rezoning."

This area of Catherine Field is currently UNZONED and there is no date for when zoning may occur.

Nothing has changed. There is still no planning for infrastructure works, there is still no planning for Sydney Water sewer connections, there is still no stormwater drainage for when the site floods, the roads are in a constant state of disrepair. The applicant is still not willing to make any contributions, WIK or VPA. If approved, the local residents who actually reside in the Camden LGA will suffer both environmentally and financially.

Construction noise generated by the site will have a negative impact on health, well being and existing lifestyle of residents. The operating hours of the school hall and playing field up to 9pm and 10pm seven days a week will have a negative impact on health, well being and existing lifestyle of residents.

I do not consent to the amended application

A private school in Catherine fields is highly needed and it helps those families living in those areas have easier access to a private school rather than the commute every morning and afternoon to a further private school saving on traffic for all commuters

Great school management

It gives students a chance to attend a school that will support their Islamic faith. It will be a blessing for the community.

I support this project

There more need for Muslim schools in the area