New High School in Bungendore

The proposed location will without fail result in student and teacher SUICIDES BY TRAIN. This is an unacceptable risk to all Departments concerned and to the citizens and parents of Bungendore. The location is, literally, FATALLY flawed and must not proceed. It is obligatory that the Department of Education follow its guidelines on student and staff risks and under their *duty of care* ensure that the new Bungendore High School is NOT co-located anywhere near the train station or rail corridor which is too open and accessible.

I am submitting objections on behalf of myself, my husband and my daughter Sophie. Should you require these to be submitted separately I will do this, but need your confirmation please.

Please find attached a personal submission to this SSDA in regard to a proposed Bungendore High School.
The file name is BHS-SSDA - Objection LEAD RISK ebm ltr 17Oct2021.pdf
In this 2Ppp letter, I focus in detail on one topic - the recently revealed risk of LEAD CONTAMINATION along and near the rail tracks at Bungendore Station which is now the subject of investigations by Transport NSW. After much trouble getting a registration on this Portal, it was prepared as test -lodgement, but the contents are intended as very serious, and self-contained Objection. I have added a political disclaimer to p.2.
I will also be submitting a longer submission to cover a range of other Objections.
Thank you. EMMA BROOKS MAHER ;

This is the personal submission of Emma Brooks Maher.
I have tried to add a one-page map, but the Portal tells me it is the wrong file name.
This send is my 9-page document and I contact Tahlia tomorrow re the MAP.

This is the SITEMAP for use in regard to site-size when considering the SSDA for the proposed Bungendore High School.
It relates to the 4 ha minimum required by Department of Education GUIDELINES as issued Oct 2020 for regional/rural Secondary Schools up to 4000 students.
(nb - MAP caption refers to 2000-guideklines issued October 2020 - sorry)
The combined total size of all sites in the proposal is 2.9 ha. The shortfall in size is 1.1 ha, ie 27.5%.

I wish to lodge a formal objection to the new Bungendore High School as proposed in SSDA-14394209. Please see attached submission.

Maureen L Elgood
Street Address Withheld
Bungendore NSW 2621

18th October 2021

Director – Social and Infrastructure Assessments
Planning and Assessment
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Locked Bag 5022
Parramatta NSW 2124

FORMAL OBJECTION to SSDA-14394209
Dear Sir or Madam,

NEW HIGH SCHOOL IN BUNGENDORE
APPLICATION NO. SSD-14394209

I refer to the above state-significant development application.

I strongly object to the proposed site for Bungendore High School for the following reasons:
“School site selection and development guidelines”.
For a high school in a regional or rural area should be a minimum 4 ha. The site for the proposed development is 2.9ha. (Please see attached Map of Areas)

This inadequate site for the Bungendore High School is totally disrespectful to our community and especially to our students. We are a village surrounded by greenfields which are not all in the flood zones and the Department is trying its best to plonk a modern, multistorey high school on our heritage town park. This decision will affect the standard of education for our children because of limited classrooms and therefore curriculum. There is no space for students outdoors and nowhere for the school to grow unless demountables are placed on the park. This is a disgrace and should have been stopped before it got to this stage of development and the resulting incurred costs.

I am a long-time resident of Bungendore, I have been here for 67 years, and I have witnessed rapid growth in that time. Growing up with no town water, no sewerage and we played on the main road that is now a main highway from Canberra to the coast. I went to the local primary school and travelled to Queanbeyan, 20 minutes away by bus, to attend high school. I don’t remember it being an arduous journey but one that has many fond memories. The buses were full of students who attended various schools and the social interaction was quite special. But times are now changed and with the limited number of high schools accepting Bungendore students and, the expectations of parents and children although very different is not necessarily wrong. I am definitely not against a high school but its proposed location.
There have been some major developments over the years and not all are bad but, I can’t remember one that has divided the community as this one has. We have a major government department, Department of Education, a prominent political person, Deputy Premier John Barilaro and our local council, QPRC working together to take a huge part of the heritage heart of our town. As you can imagine, some people believe that all these major players are doing the best for our community and are overjoyed at finally getting a high school which, Mr Barilaro promised would open first term 2023 even if he had to compulsorily acquire the land. (ABC news interview). The parents of soon to be high school students are ecstatic. The propaganda and professional videos from DoE are very pleasing to the eye and depict the dream of these desperate parents who have found it hard to get their children into ACT schools. The big issue with the community now starts with the announcement that the Bungendore Park (Mick Sherd Oval) is to be the site of the school. Mr Barilaro announces that this might not be the best site, but it will deliver a school by first term 2023. The lie being told that no other land was available when in fact, the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment were on the verge of finalising the project for the high school to be built on “Ashby” Tarago Road.
This is where the divide in the community begins. The parents who need a high school now, with the park accommodating that and, the community who want to protect their only park, green space in the centre of our heritage village and who also realise that the high school can be built on a more appropriate site with room for our children. Why should we accept standards less than other schools to fit into a political time frame to suit a ribbon cutting exercise pre-election 2023?
The EIS for this SSDA is so full of errors and misrepresentations that it is a huge exercise to fully analyse it in 28 days. I am sure that the DoE, Mr John Barilaro and QPRC are relying on people giving up and putting it into a too hard basket.
They may have underestimated the community of Bungendore. The residents have proudly worked for our community for decades and we are not going to give up now, no matter how big the opponent is, and we are finding more people are now understanding the implications to our town if we lose the Park.
Bungendore Park alone attests to the community volunteer and support network, the park was originally managed by community Trustees. Most of the amenities on the park have been built by the community – Bungendore Park tennis courts, Swimming Pool, playground, Bush Balladeers Place and Rotunda, Adult Exercise Equipment, Canteen and Toilet block and the most precious, heritage listed, Cenotaph which commemorates the fallen local soldiers who fought to protect our community and country. This Park is not an appropriate high school site!
The Park has played a huge role in the culture and life of the town ever since it was dedicated in 1884 and today is still utilised by local families. It is well placed for tourists and as most of the businesses in town rely on tourism to stay viable this confirms that the park is vitally important to the economy of the village. The Park has hosted the Bungendore Tiger’s rugby League team since 1908 and is used by exercise service providers every day.

There IS a much more suitable site on Tarago Rd – large, level, one single site, no consolidation complexities, no demolitions, no Crown Land issues, no legal complications, already investigated/approved by Property NSW, easily big enough to have its own oval, no problem. Unlike the Park site, the site on Tarago Road complies with most of the “School site selection and development guidelines” and would have very few constraints for quick construction.
A site was offered to the department FREE of CHARGE and was excluded for no other reason than it was east of the railway line!
A suitable site on Trucking Yard Lane was considered by the Department of Education. According to an email from the Department, this site was excluded because it:
• Wasn’t “mapped for biodiversity constraints” – although the relevant vegetation map does not identify and sites of significance and there are no endangered ecological communities on the site;
• “required flood mapping” – I live in the area and can assure you that this particular land does not flood, and the flood mapping was not actually undertaken;
• “have poor road infrastructure access and will require additional roads, are in areas with unknown infrastructure capacity (power, water, communications and sewerage),and have poor pedestrian and cycling infrastructure” – even though they are immediately adjacent to two new housing estates, with main road access to the kings Highway, other roads to the north and south, and very close to a cycle path which would join the site to Bungendore Public School. Many children from this area already use the pathways and roads to get to the primary school;
• “would need to be re-zoned to permit a school” – Well of course – so does Bungendore Park.
Why is the Department trying so hard to make the Park a suitable site for the High School?
The Department is coming across legal and site issues on every turn but are still insisting there was no other site available, which we know is a lie.
In a letter on 22 December 2020, responding to Ms P A Car MP, The Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC wrote:
“After a thorough assessment process, it was determined that the sites identified through the EOI process were not suitable.” - This is not true!
“Traffic studies to identify any impacts that might occur regarding the closure of Majara Street thoroughfare between Turallo Terrace and Gibraltar Street have been undertaken, The traffic studies established that the closure is not anticipated to cause congestion within the Precinct” - The traffic study was conducted without the consultants knowing that Majara Street was to be closed!!!
“The Department does not accept the statement that there has been a lack of community consultation. Considerable effort was made to ensure due diligence was followed in the selection of the site. This included both community consultation and discussions with QPRC.” - John Barilaro announced the site on 13 August 2020 as a done deal, there was certainly no community consultation.
“74% of respondents that visited the Hub indicated the proposed Majara/Gibraltar Streets Precinct is an appropriate location for the proposed high school.” – 74 people completed the survey and 54 people somewhat agreed with the site.

How can anyone even think of such a convoluted idea to take our Park is nothing but lose-lose-lose for the Bungendore community when there’s an excellent alternative immediately available and, one that avoids all the problems involved with closing a major road and subdividing a century-old dedicated public Park.

I implore Planning New South Wales to reject this application outright and insist that the department of education return to the originally identified site on Tarago road.

I have not, and no associate of mine has made any political donation to any person in the two years preceding this submission.


Yours faithfully

Maureen Elgood

Maureen Elgood
Street Address Withheld
Bungendore NSW 2621

18th October 2021


Director – Social and Infrastructure Assessments
Planning and Assessment
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Locked Bag 5022
Parramatta NSW 2124

FORMAL OBJECTION to SSDA-14394209
Dear Sir or Madam,

NEW HIGH SCHOOL IN BUNGENDORE
APPLICATION NO. SSD-14394209


I refer to the above state-significant development application.

I strongly object to the SINSW’s consultation process

6.1 Community engagement
DoE conducted the following community engagement activities prior to lodgement:

Community Engagement is NOT Community Consultation.
All involved parties would have to acknowledge that the SITE SELECTION is paramount to this school being built.
DPIE and DoE

• Online community survey from 14 August 2020 to 11 September 2020, which
received 710 responses;

This engagement was an online survey which did not mentioned site selection.
It was a survey was for “Prioritising Design Principles” and its stated aim w only “to gain insight from the local residents and school community (staff, parents, carers and students) on prioritizing the design principles”
The results were supposed to:
“enable SINSW to determine whether the design principles are aligned with community expectation and help develop an understanding of local residents’ and school communities’ views on the provision of amenities, cultural inclusion and school environment.”

It was not the intention of consulting with the community and no intention of finding out whether people wanted the high school built on our town park.

• SINSW held a Community Engagement Hub across four days in September 2020
at Bungendore Primary School, which included 120 people across the four
sessions;
• A survey was offered to all registered attendees at the conclusion of their time
at the Community Engagement Hub, and 63 responses were received; and


The “Community Information Hub” was advertised and the majority of the 710 people who had filled in the “Online Survey” did not bother to attend as maybe like me “they thought it was going to be another nonevent and really only a sales pitch with no substance. When advertising “the information hub” there was no advertising of the fact that there would be a survey with questions about your preference for the Bungendore Park site for the proposed High School. Why didn’t DoE ask that question in the Online survey. Did they want to know the answer?

You needed to register to attend the hub and that entitled you to be able to fill out the survey.
90 people registered and of those 74 filled out the survey.
Of those 74, 74% “felt Bungendore Park was an appropriate site”. That equates to 54.7 people
And of those 54 people, only 36 “strongly agreed” that Bungendore Park was a suitable site for the high school 36 People!!!!!

36 people is what DoE express as overwhelming support, but obviously you do not see DoE publish that figure. Their published figure is 74%.

• SINSW held an information hub on Tuesday 11 May 2021 at Bungendore Primary
School, which included approximately 80 people.

I attended this information hub and there was no counting of attendees.
There was no consultation.
The staff could not answer basic questions about the site.
Staff could not answer where growth could be accommodated. One gentleman pointed to already limited green space to be used for growth.
There were armed police and security guards.

All the above points to the Department of Education just ticking boxes, and not very well.


Targeted consultation with potentially impacted groups including landowners,
community special interest groups and the general public was also undertaken
throughout the EIS process to address areas of concern and identify appropriate
forums in order to provide feedback, raise questions and comments.

Through FOI searches there are no Department of Education reports or records of these “Targeted Consultation” meetings.
I don’t doubt they happened but how can we rely on any feedback from the Department of Education?
We have hearsay evidence that not all groups targeted agreed with the site and we also are aware that not all relevant groups were afforded a meeting – Bungendore Swimming Club, Bungendore Soccer Club are just two that we know of. The department of Education was a bit like the Pied Piper offering sweeteners to gain popularity. Use of school PA system for Anzac Day services, boat shed so that they can take a carpark and use Scout’s amenities.

The general community was not consulted. Why? It is the Town Park! Even though it is used by interest groups it does not belong to them. It is used by the community every day.


Key feedback from the community included:
• 79% of survey respondents expressed positive sentiments about building a new
high school in Bungendore;

The proposal of building a high school by the Bungendore Community was never in dispute. It is the site that is in dispute and the majority feel railroaded by DoE, QPRC and SINSW.

• 74% of survey respondents felt that the site was an appropriate location for the
school;

Note: Please see above comments on the 74% - actually 36 people strongly agreed to this site – very misleading!

I implore Planning New South Wales to reject this application outright and insist that the department of education return to the originally identified site on Tarago road.

I have not, and no associate of mine has made any political donation to any person in the two years preceding this submission.

Yours faithfully

Maureen Elgood

I strongly Object to the Department of education doing a land grab on our Heritage Bungendore Park

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