New High School in Bungendore

See attached.

Totally support the project, including the interim build using demountable buildings. This project must continue to provide continuity for students and too allow staff and students to move into the permanent buildings for 2024 - all of the delays are ridiculous.

Really excited about this project. Very happy with the modification made in response to community submissions.
The additional parking added is well thought out and sufficient. The both schools will benefit greatly from this project.
Thank you for all the good work in providing this much needed community resource.
I look forward to seeing the updated plan built in 2023.

Build the school

Build the fucking high school do not listen to the fossils who object to having it. They have kids who are old and grown but are more than happy to take the financial benefit from selling their home now as opposed to the price they paid for them.

Please build the school

Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission on this application.

School Infrastructure NSW (SINSW) has made a serious effort to address issues raised by the community during the first round of consultations. For that, they should be congratulated.

However, addressing these issues on an inappropriate site can only lead to compromise stacked on compromise. And that is what has happened with this amended plan.

The resulting school plan is deficient in a number of key areas: for a school in a regional town, the school is unnecessarily squeezed onto an tiny footprint that might be appropriate in a densely built up suburban situation but is totally inappropriate where the village is surrounded by potentially suitable greenfield sites. Sites on which a better school could be accommodated.

There is an opportunity here to build an iconic school that engages with community and rural facilities in the surrounding area. Equestrian pursuits, sustainable agriculture, the proximity to the national capital are just a few of the opportunities in the local region that a properly designed and located school could tap into. These opportunities have not been considered in this plan and that is an opportunity missed.

The compromised school that has resulted from this re-design risks becoming a pariah school that will fail to attract the best educators and will fail to deliver the best outcomes for our students.

The predicted growth of the Bungendore region over the next decade, coupled with the current capacity challenges faced by both the primary school and local pre-schools and childcare centres, means we need a high school that can cope with the inevitable growing demand in the region. Even with the classroom expansion area included in the revised plan, it seems unlikely that this compromised school will be able to meet this demand. A greenfield development on a far larger site can accommodate the anticipated growth. Regional growth must be more appropriately considered in this application.

Reportedly, the current school will exceed $70 million by completion. This is an eyewateringly large sum for a compromised school that cannot grow with the community. The NSW taxpayer deserves value for money in infrastructure projects and the compromised plan does not represent good value. The school is already more expensive than the larger school recently approved in Jerrabomberra. A greenfield development with room to expand offers a far better value for money outcome for NSW taxpayers. Value for money must be more strenuously considered during this process.

The proposed plan places the school into a part of the township that already sees some of the highest level of traffic movements during school drop off and pick up times. The Gibraltar/Majara precinct is already overused during these periods and the addition of car, bus and pedestrian movements to deal with the high school in the same precinct is inevitably a recipe for disaster. The safety of our students should be an overarching issue to consider during this process and there is little evidence within the planning documents that the appropriate level of attention has been given to this issue. The closure of Majara Street, the addition of 90 degree parking and the changed location of bus stop locations all appear to compound traffic movement and child safety issues on this constrained site.

There does not appear to be a workable solution to the car parking requirements for the high school. The addition of 90 degree parking along Turallo Terrace has little if any community support and, even if a compromise solution is found on Turallo Terrace, there is still insufficient dedicated parking spaces. SINSW will need to apply for a special variation to the required number of car parks and this should not be permitted. To grant a variation can only result in additional pressure on other public parking in the area. Parking that has a specific purpose to serve both Bungendore Park and the tennis courts. Inevitably, this will encourage improper use of these car parks and will result in further community disquiet and the potential for informal parking in surrounding streets.

The major access road to the school precinct is Molonglo Street/Kings Highway. The pressure that additional vehicle movements will put on the Majara Street/Kings Highway intersection will become a real challenge. I’m not sure this has been adequately considered in the plan.

The eastern end of Turallo Terrace has a low ford over Turallo creek. This area floods frequently resulting in frequent road closures. With the closure of this road, additional pressure is inevitable for the Turallo, Gibraltar, Majara precinct and this does not appear to have been adequately considered in the plan.

In a rural location, there is no need to squeeze the high school into an inadequately sized block.

While I applaud SINSW efforts to accommodate community concerns in this plan, I urge the Department of Planning to exercise common sense and recommend that an alternative, better suited site be identified.

A high school for Bungendore is a priority for the community, but it is not such a priority that we should accept this deeply compromised solution.

Bungendore needs a high school. This is the right location at the right time. The design looks great. Let's move ahead. The minority have been far too loud as they have the time to write submissions while us working parents are incredibly time poor. This has resulted in a skewed view that the school is not supported in this location when it really is! I fully support this project and it needs to go ahead NOW!

THERE ARE REMAINS OF A HUMAN BURIED ON THE CORNER OF GIBRALTAR AND MALBON STREET THAT HAVE NOT BEEN TAKEN INTO PROPER CONSIDERATION FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT. THE DISRESPECT OF THE MUSTER MEMORIAL, THAT WAS CONSTRUCTED IN THE TIME FRAME OF THE PLANNING FOR THE SCHOOL, HAS ALSO NOT BEEN CONSIDERED RESPECTFULLY. THE COMMUNITY ASSETS AND HISTORY THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS BUILT NEED TO BE RESPECTED. THE 70 SOMETHING TREES THAT WOULD BE REMOVED COULD INCLUDE THE LAST OF THE LARGE RADIATAS THAT WERE BROUGBT BACK BY OUR DIGGERS IN THE WAR AND ARE KNOWN BY THE WAR MEMORIAL BUT ARE NOT ON THE LOCAL HERITAGE LIST SO ARE THEREFORE BEING REMOVED WITHOUT RESPECT, ACKNOWLEDGMENT OR REPLACEMENT. THERE ARE BETTER PLACES FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL.

Great work! Keep going, stop pandering to the complainants. Most people with kids work and can't attend your sessions.

I strongly object to the proposed location.

My objection to the location is based upon two key issues. First, the location is the only public green space within the town, and its loss will substantially reduce public amenity and the character of the town, and leave no public green space within the centre of town.

The second issue is the loss of community services that would be a consequence of developing the proposed location. This include the community pool, exercise equipment, sporting clubs, a Scouting hall, a day care centre and a public health facility. Proposals to rebuild facilities for these services elsewhere will reduce accessibility, particularly for economically disadvantaged and elderly residents. Critically, rebuilding exisiting services elsewhere would be unnecessarily expensive, and making the restitution of services to the same level unaffordable. There is little
Economic sense to the destruction of facilities in one area, only to be rebuilt in another, and replaced by still more. To build the school in another location would be a SINGLE building project. To relocate exisiting community facilities and build the school at the proposed site would be one demolition project
and two building projects.

There is little then to recommend the building of the high school in the proposed location, other than to destroy public amenity and services, waste public monies and build up the ego (or bank balances) of zealous proponents.

I object to the location of the new school in Bungendore.
Taking any part of Bungendore Park is totally unacceptable and not in the best interests of the community as a whole.
Forcing younger children to share space with older children is less than ideal and the impact of traffic on the local streets will be drastic.
The post office has already had to move with all of the drama that this project has created and I don’t want to see any further detrimental effects on the heritage of this town.
The park at the centre of town is our only green space dedicated to leisure and is used year-round by various groups of people.
Losing the pool that our community campaigned so hard for, would be a massive loss not to mention the community centre and the issues facing our scout hall.
Please. For the love of god, build the school somewhere else!

‘I object to the High School being built on the proposed site . This amendment is so similar to the last one its a joke - the issues raised in previous submissions were not addressed; parking and traffic will be chaotic and dangerous; and I believe there are much better alternative sites around Bungendore – It is BAD PLANNING.

I wish to state my strong objections to the proposed site for the Bungendore High School.

1. Traffic issues. Blocking Majara street would result in a loss of amenity for residents of the Elmslea Estate like myself. The alternative route along Turallo Terrace would become a bottleneck for traffic given the current plan shows a new car park along the Terrace. This means that commuters and other residents would be obstructed by school traffic. There is a danger of traffic accidents and injury to students.

2. Proper community consultation on this project has been woefully inadequate, both by elected officials including John Barilaro, and by the Department of Education. This project was presented as a fait accompli by the then state member and since then the Department of Education has continued to try and bulldoze this project through. The number of objections lodged to this plan are an indication that a large number of Bungendore residents were not consulted.

3. The proposed plan would result in a severe loss of amenity to the Bungendore community by impacting on Bungendore Park. The Park is the heart of Bungendore. We all use the off-leash area for our dogs and the oval is in frequent use by both adults and children. The loss of any green space in an urban area should be avoided at all costs and runs counter to both state and federal policy on urban development.

In an old town like Bungendore this loss has a heavy cultural impact as well as an environmental one.

4. School capacity - the current design for the school can only accommodate @450 students. This means that at the very least, the school will reach full enrolment in 3 years and will not have adequate space to meet local demand. Considering the demographics of Bungendore a school twice this size at least would be more suitable. I believe that the school has been shrunk to meet the constraints of the site, rather than the Department of Education selecting a green site with appropriate space to plan a full size campus.

5. Loss of council facilities - the Council has currently lost it’s Bungendore facilities to compulsory acquisition and now does not have funding to relocate and provide services that the village needs.

We will be stripped of so much if this plan goes ahead - our council services, our park and our traffic access. I urge you to stop this proposal and demand that the Department of Education seek another site as a priority.

6. We now have children crammed into demountables on the Primary school field which deprives all students of an appropriate educational experience. Urgent action to find an alternative site must be taken rather than trying to cobble together this Frankenstein of a proposal.

I object to the Bungendore High School Submission. Specifically I object to the location of the proposed highschool, being on bungendore’s sports field and surrounding buildings. Placing a highschool on the town oval removals access to the site which people currently use to recreate. This will have a negative impact on the health of the community.

I also object to the proposed size of the school which does not cater for the growing town. The site is too small to cater for expansion.

I also object to the removal of the towns pool to cater for the school, the limiting access to roads, the increased traffic in the centre of town near the playground and the building of car parks near in the area to cater for the school. Increased traffic near the kids playground will be a hazard.

I want a highschool but I do not support this proposal!

I do not wish to see the existing land and infrastructure lost to the Bungendore High School Development. The area is utilised by a variety of communities groups, families and travelers. Bungendore Park and the adjoining Common across Turallo Terrace, is Crown Land and is dedicated to use by all members of the public. This includes local organised sports groups (not just school sport), family use at various times of the day (weekdays and weekends) as well as use by many for fitness and rest stops when needed. It is a wonderful area in the middle of town that needs to remain as is and not be lost to development that will diminish the needs and wants of our wider community. The proposed design will greatly affect the historic value of our village. We will loose our small town feel.
We do not wish to lose our centrally placed open space that is the heart of our community to a development that is not warranted or wanted by the majority in our town and surrounding region. This development will impact many residents both local and those living on surrounding properties with loss of the existing infrastructure including our current pool and community centre.
My family have lived in this area for over 30 years. I have utilised this area regularly, as have my children and we hope that our children’s children will also be able to enjoy the area as it is and not an area closed off to the general public, with a new building structure not built to meet the current needs of residents or cater to the many members of the public who stop and visit the area while travelling to and from the coast and surrounding regions. Our oval and park is much loved and enjoyed AS IS. The loss of existing trees and landscape will dimmish the feel for the area. It provides tourists to our area a wonderful spot to stop, rest and visit whilst enjoying the open wide area. We cannot lose this space, we do not have anything similar for locals or tourists to go to if this development goes ahead. It needs to hold its small town charm.
We are not against the building of a high school - in fact our family feel it well warranted as we had to send out children to Canberra for lack of a local school. We just want it built in a better location that will not encroach on the needs and wants of the greater community.
We are aware that there have been other sites deemed appropriate - one particularly suitable in Elmslea which will be a much better option - it will future proof the ability for our future generations to attend a school that is built for the needs of our children now and in the future. It will accommodate the future growth of our community whilst providing a new and exciting area for all of our community to utilise. Building the school on a bare site will not compromise the wonderful historic areas we already have, that is equally important for ALL of the community not just those needing a local high school cramped in the center of town.
It is a known that our State Government did not consult with the greater community for this project. Our local rugby league and union teams, swimming club and local church groups were not consulted and left unaccounted for in the process. Whilst some consultation with residents was undertaken it did not allow for the many residents who work out of town to attend or provide an unbiased process earlier on to be undertaken. This part of Bungendore is fundamental to the heritage value of our town. Please do not let this vital part of our community be lost to a highly miss-managed process, one that is floored from start to finish. One that should be investigated to ensure that due diligence has been done as required.
Whilst I appreciate the support for the locals wanting this location- they are not taking into account other families not in town who need a new high school! I don’t feel current supporters see the long term damage that will be done to the centre of town. A new school in a location that will better support the growth in our region is the go. Allow for all of the community to gain from a properly built school, not one that will not provide for the wider community.

An educational hub that incorporates preschool to year 12 is a great idea and provides many opportunities for all students. I think the site location will cause short term hassles with the traffic and building but long term will be very beneficial for the children and young people of the town. I fully support the current proposal and hope to see it progressed as soon as possible.
The people who don’t want the high school are probably just worried about their own real estate prices or are the same people who will fight any kind of progress in the town. They’re loud but there aren’t that many of them.
I hope the design is future proofed for the significant developments happening with new suburbs of Bungendore.
I am also really hopeful the high school will provide for students with complex disabilities. Including looking at the research from Innovative Learning Environments and Teaching Change when looking at the internal designs and open planned learning spaces and the pedagogy around this. Open plan doesn’t always work and doesn’t work for all students. Pedagogical shifts must be made in innovative spaces.

NAME Rosie Windsor
ADDRESS 557 Lake Road BUNGENDORE NSW 2621


8 October 2022


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



Dear Sir or Madam


NEW HIGH SCHOOL IN BUNGENDORE
APPLICATION NO. SSD-14394209


I refer to the above state-significant development application.

I object to the proposal, for the following reason(s):

Location
- The site will ruin the heritage nature of this historic village
- It will diminish a central recreation area enjoyed by locals and visitors alike
- It is too small for a school anyway let alone a high school. There will be no room for further growth. No room for kids to play. No room for trees or shade. No room for more subject selection as no capacity for “extra” subjects
Negative social impact on those who use the space as it is now
- loss of several community facilities with no credible evidence of their timely or even eventual replacement.
- visually destroying the heritage centre of the Historic Village
- recreational access
- feeling safe
Safety and roads
- congestion in an already busy area. Closing roads to enable more minimum space is not well thought out
- parking will be a massive problem. Visitors to the playground will find it impossible to park or even visit the loo as students will want to use the spaces.
- Railway station will be a mess for travellers competing with buses and parking
- There has NEVER been a proper TRAFFIC plan.
Site selection
- it was never explained why a much larger and more suitable site was rejected at the last minute- in favour of soon to be disused and redundant Council building which was never going to be big enough. The site will be too small as school intake will now include Mt Fairy Road, Tarago-Bungendore Road to Collector Road, Taylor’s Creek Road and Western Leg Road. More Buses! And the proposed area on the amended plan for future expansion is tiny. Another site away from this ridiculous area will be needed for expansion unless you go multi storey which would further impact the heritage nature and visual beauty of our historic town.
- Fences around perimeter – clearly necessary but defying the original plan of the school being a shared space. Absolute rubbish.

I could go on and on.

In closing, I object to the site chosen for the high school. Save your money now and build a proper high school on a space that can grow with the needs of the population for the students now and into the future.

I have not, and no associate of mine, has made any political donation to any person in the 2 years preceding this submission

Yours faithfully,

Rosie Windsor
557 Lake Road BUNGENDORE NSW 2621 ph 0412 114 273

The amended proposal does not materially change the basis of my previous objection which remains germane to this proposal. My previous objection stands.

I am strongly objecting to a High School on this site.
I have great concerns regarding the commencement of the High School in our Bungendore Village.


1. The site is too small and cannot possibly keep up with our growing community .
2. It is flanked by a railway line , major highway & an area that regularly floods causing road closures .
3. Traffic flow for safety of our community will be dangerous for our little Bungendorians attending g the pre-school & primary school.
Parking is non existent and the proposed car parking is entirely not suitable or big enough to handle staff, students parents & carers . We are a regional small village with out lying area which means the students and staff will be driving & parking . This is not environmentally sustainable or practical on this site.
4. We have an incredible opportunity to have a world class High School
The educational outcome for our young Bungendorians has already been disrupted due to COVID & now this temporary high school site takes away the amazing opportunities our children can have .

5. The small site of the High School is creating so much anxiety for families .

6. The site chosen for the permanent high school is simply too small & has no where to grow . It is flanked by a creek (flooding) , train line & the main high way that links it to the coast .

7. We have identified at least 2 more appropriate sites that would be incredible for a world class high school for our region . A site that can grow with our village and surrounds , a site that encompass and utilise the assets that surround Bungendore Eg. Environment - Lake George (weereewa) a huge inland lake with remarkable indigenous heritage
Mining - Gold, Sand
Renewables - , we have an extensive wind farm & a proposed solar farm Science - we have the giant radio telescope Equestrian - Bungendore has the most equine riders in the region .
Access to our nations Capital .
All this & more can make our High School extraordinary .
Please , we can tolerate a temporary high school if we know the out come will be a bigger & built fit for purpose High School that can grow with our community .
Please consider the future of our children .
Choose a more appropriate site that we can all support.
I do not support a High school on this site

Thank you

I object to having the new Bungendore High School where it’s currently proposed as the space is too small and why should we who enjoy the park area at the moment go without! I think Bungendore would lose a lot of its heritage design which brings in visitors and helps support our local business owners.
Please reconsider this site and support the locals.