Murwillumbah Education Campus

Facade and Materiality
I think the PS needs to have bright, inspirational and exciting colours for the facade. We need to stand tall and proud to our community as a centre of educational excellence. We do not need to blend into the golds etc of the environment. Primary students need, bright colours that will inspire their play, creativity and joy.

I have seen some DET new builds in other districts that have had fabulously bright and inspiring colours. Our students deserve to have a joyful and exciting environment too.
I see references to the reds of the Cudgen Plateau. We are miles from Cudgen. We do not even draw any students from Cudgen. I fail to see why these reds are referenced in the colours.
Please reconsider the colours to promote joy and laughter to young children.

Please see attached submission on behalf of the Murwillumbah East Public School Parents and Citizens Association.

My son is studying at Murwillumbah east public school . It is such a nice school with great staffs and surrounded by trees. Please dont shut it down here us out. Traffic will be worst when you merges all 4 schools together.

I object to the Murwillumbah High School Upgrade. There has been no community consultation. The Liberal National Government promised an upgrade of the Murwillumbah East Public School at the last election. Now it is going to be closed entirely.
The closure of 4 Schools will mean job losses.
These school closures and the High School Upgrade will have a massive unwanted impact aesthetically on our town. It is not sensitive to the surrounding environment or Community educational needs or preferences.
This School is not about improving outcomes for students.
Personally I live next door to Murwillumbah High school.
The pictures of the new design aren't clear. It is hard to see what and where buildings, roads etc are actually going to be and the design keeps radically changing! It appears there will be a three story building across the lane from my home and the new School road entrance on Riverview Street appears to be up one story to be level with the existing road? It is difficult to work out from the design picture.
I am concerned about my own privacy and also the privacy of students. I am also concerned about traffic congestion, drainage, noise, foot traffic access at the top of High School Lane. I think the upgrade will negatively impact the value of my property and the peace and comfort of living there.
I am opposed to the Murwillumbah High School Upgrade on a Community a personal level.
Thank you
Karen Brown

This is opposite of what represents this small town. Big schools big problems. Children will be slip through the cracks. Aesthetically cold

I object to the statement that the proposed development provides students in Murwillumbah with equitable access to learning spaces. Equitable access would enable families to have choice in which public schools they send their children to, and this project eliminates choice for our community. The Social Impact Assessment also acknowledge the possibly negative impact of moving from smaller schools to a larger campus, and the impact of the transition of students from two schools to one.
I object to the statement that MEC will ensure the forecast demand for student spaces in Murwillumbah for the future. The NSW Department of Education has not provided detailed information to the community about the range of options that were considered and the associated costs and benefits of each. All the affected school’s current enrolments are at least 20% below their capacity level, therefore there must have been a range of options to respond to future anticipated population levels, if this was the main driver for the amalgamation.
Given the Social Impact Assessment highlights 6 of the 11 potential impact types for this project are possibly or likely negative, planning permissions should not be granted on the basis that the negatives outweigh the positives. It also beggars belief that the evidence for improved educational and post-educational outcomes from the project will be examined for the first time in the Phase 2 SIA. I support the call in the SIA for comprehensive community engagement to identify potential future uses of affected school sites.
Noting that Murwillumbah is one of the most disadvantaged areas in NSW as measured by the SEIFA index, and that the success of students is closely linked to their education facilities accommodating students own cultural capital, it is immensely disappointing that existing students have not been better engaged in understanding what is needed to improve their existing education experiences, let alone to inform facility upgrades or the new campus. The NSW Government would better invest in our children’s education by diverting resources to address the housing crisis.
If the amalgamation proposal is able to demonstrate a overwhelmingly positive outcome for the community that is met with enthusiastic support through the outcomes of proper community consultation (not the ‘name the campus’ style engagement the community has been involved with so far), planning review should take the following into consideration:
Resources and Waste
NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 is about minimising what we throw away and use, reusing our resources efficiently, and making them as productive as possible. Government agencies must prefer recycled content, which the MEC proposal is silent on.
Conditions therefore must be applied to the project to:
- In addition to the ‘Design for Manufacture’ approach to the design of the project, further details should be required or conditions applied to the project to maximise ‘products as a service’ such as leased carpet and furniture.
- Produce a materials passport identify when and how much material will reach its end of life and its relevant plan for management. Low-carbon recycled materials such as cement made with coal ash must be specified for the project as a minimum.
Transport
Noting the comment in the Social Impact Assessment that how people currently access schools and the future campus including bus routes and current traffic will be explored at a later stage, and that Murwillumbah High School is already recognised as a traffic congestion issue, no approval to endorse the planning proposal should be granted until this analysis has been adequately considered and the implications of the design of the new campus on accessibility is demonstrated. The Transport Impact Assessment has considered the technical capacity of the transport network to accommodate the development, but fails to consider the human element that the SIA Phase 2 will need to consider.
Green Star rating
A 4 star Green Star Design & As Built v1.3 certified outcome is good, but why is the project not striving for 6 stars, being highly efficient, fully powered by renewables and addressing a significant number of environmental and social issues and contributing to the community?
Renewable Energy
Details about the anticipated energy demand of the recommended design, and therefore the proportion of the site’s daytime demand that will be self-generated from on-site solar should be included in a revised ESD report.
Mature trees
To improve the campus microclimate, shading and biodiversity values, the replacement ratio of mature trees should be increased to beyond the 50% of the amount of mature trees to be cleared.

I support this

I object to the development of the Murwillumbah Education Campus at the current Murwillumbah High School located at 86 Riverview Street, Murwillumbah, NSW 2484.
This site is flood prone and was severely damaged and inundated by floodwaters in the2017 and 2022 flood events in Murwillumbah.
Murwillumbah Primary School is located on a hill and Wollumbin High School is also elevated and on a hill and both sites were not inundated by flood waters. However the decision has been made to close these sites and build at the low lying Murwillumbah High School site.
The development of the Murwillumbah Education Campus at the Murwillumbah High School site will also cause traffic congestion on Wollumbin Street and Main Street in the town centre. There will be approximately 1500 - 1800 children attending this school, with school buses and parents driving the children to school. Currently there are 4 schools in different parts of Murwillumbah, this traffic will now all be coming and going from the same spot. There is already congestion at school drop off and pick up from Mount St Patricks High School which is located at the top of Main Street, due to the expected size of the campus this traffic will now double.
The community, parents and students were not consulted prior to the decision to proceed with the development of Murwillumbah Education Campus therefore this decision was not an informed decision on the effects of the development on the town, neighbouring sites and businesses.
Murwillumbah Primary School is 109 years old. The hall is a heritage building.
The children of Murwillumbah have suffered severe floods where families have lost everything in 2017 and 2022, yet the Government now expect them to pay for all new uniforms and supplies for a new campus. The children have had enough upheaval, change and devastation and do not need the added stress of staring at a new school with new teachers and classes.
The ePetition "Save Murwillumbah Schools" was presented in the Legislative Assembly by Ms Janelle Saffin on 23 January 2021
The ePetition text in full was:
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly, the Petition of citizens of New South Wales brings to the attention of the House: * The strong community opposition to the forced closure of four schools in Murwillumbah namely Murwillumbah High School, Murwillumbah East Public, Murwillumbah Primary and Wollumbin High School. * The community rejects the NSW Government’s plans for a “Mega School” instead of our four outstanding local schools. * The forced closure of these four schools would adversely affect local students, educational outcomes and the fabric of our small country town. *The forced closure of these schools would result in major job losses and severe economic consequences for our town. The undersigned petitioners therefore ask the Premier and the NSW Government to: * Support the residents, families and students of Murwillumbah NSW by reversing their decision to force the closure of Murwillumbah’s four schools and instead keep our existing schools open and ensure these four schools are appropriately funded.
The ePetition received 4290 signatures. This means from a population of approximately 10,000 residents of Murwillumbah close to half the town opposes the development.
We request a halt and consult with the community to discuss the benefits to our town of the closure of 4 schools and the development of 1 school from Kindergarten to Year 12.

Little community consultation- this is a huge obsticle. Community consultation is a must- and it hasn't happened.
Larger campus unable to properly cater for unique needs of diverse community
Larger campus would reduce teaching load but not increase outcomes for students
Issues with management of year levels- younger students engaging with older students who they shouldn't
Lack of parking and road issues around a super campus

I have previously submitted an objection to this project based on both educational and building/access issues.
This submission is to voice my concerns over the construction of the MEC as I live within close proximity of the site. I am concerned about the construction noise, the movement of traffic & parking issues associated with the build, plus the impact of vibrational & dust issues. I have read your documents which outline the time frame for the project and the hours and days of construction. It is going to take a long time &, most probably, even longer. I am around my home for most of the time so there will be little respite from these construction issues.

While I agree that it is a good idea to address the flooding issue at Murwillumbah East Primary School I object to the lack of consultation with school communities and the general Murwillumbah community. The locals should have been front and centre in any decision making as they know their community not beauracrats sitting in offices faraway. By placing four schools on the Murwillumbah High school site a huge traffic problem is imposed on the town. My 41 years in education has shown me that primary age children usually do better in smaller schools where it is easier to create a more personal and nurturing environment. My experience has been that primary age children in a high school environment can lead to bullying and in some cases high school roll models not in the best interests of younger children. I do see an advantage in combining smaller high schools in that more subject choices can be offered. A commonsense solution would be to combine the two primary schools on the Murwillumbah High School site and the two high schools on the Wollumbin High site. This alleviates the flooding issue at Murwillumbah East and negates the major traffic issues with having four schools on one site. Please consider this commonsense approach. Thank you.

This development goes against local communuty preference for small schools and learning space diversity.
The planning for traffic and pedestrian streaming on completion does not address the impacts on streets outside one street block away. Having lived 2 streets from the Murwilumbah High School for over 20 years, I believe the current plan is grossly inadequate, and many cars will utilise Brisbane street, Hartigan street, Elizabeth street and Commercial Road to avoid the traffic that is bound to back up along Nullum street.
This has been demonstrated for many years during peak sport seasons, and is likely to become a daily issue Monday to Friday.
If students will be required to walk greater distances to reach the school due to difficulty for cars accessing the Drop off zone, will there be increased supervision provided in these surrounding streets?