New High School in Bungendore

I quote from the Project Update June 2024. "In addition enrolment projections indicate medium and long-term enrolment numbers may be higher than previously forecast. As a result, the Department is reviewing analysis of projected demand to ensure community needs can be met".
This is exactly what has been highlighted by the opposition to this site along with many other reasons the site is unsuitable for the High School. Had a significant number of local residents like myself not spent time analysing the original DA the school would have gone ahead. and already the Department would have a major problem on their hands.
There are many aspects of this new DA that will be confidently challenged in court again. How much more Tax Payers money are you going to waste. Please give our Bungendore kids a chance and lock in a new site.

Gavin Whiteley
20 Elmslea Drive
BUNGENDORE NSW 2621
Wednesday 17 July 2024

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

Dear Sir or Madam
Re: NEW HIGH SCHOOL IN BUNGENDORE (APPLICATION NO. SSD-14394209)

I refer to the above state-significant development application.

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

• The loss of the Bungendore Community Centre which is due to be demolished for the construction of the new school.
• The loss of the proposed site for the Abbeyfield Senior Citizens’ housing development.
• The loss of portion of Majara Street due to be closed due to the construction of the school and its associated detrimental traffic flow impacts on the Bungendore town centre.
• The loss of the Bungendore community swimming pool – constructed with funds raised by the local community.
• The potential loss, damage and destruction of Indigenous cultural sites located within and nearby the proposed High School precinct, including known gravesites.
• The potential loss, damage and destruction of heritage sites located nearby and within the proposed High School precinct, including the War Memorial site.
• The loss of portion of the Bungendore Common lands to this project – these lands should be “Common” to the people of the Bungendore community – not the Department of Education or the NSW Government.
• The lack of parking for the teachers, parents and students at this High school and associated primary school.
• The dangers to students from lead and asbestos contamination located on neighbouring land.
• The small size of the school, including lack of green and play space, for the projected imminent growth of Bungendore, associated communities and potential school population.
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

Gavin Whiteley

The proposed DofE site is wrong for the following;
It takes the central park from all for one section of community.
Parking is compromised in the vacinity and nearby rsilway station.
Swimming pool hasn't been sorted.
Crown land/s should be upheld
Proposed school size not competent for town's future growth.
It has divided town folks opinions.
The costs to date- outrageous- street lighting, general upkeep, roads, town moral all suffering.

I support the building of a High School in Bungendore, either in the proposed location or another. Bungendore desperately needs a high school. The current temporary site is not good for Primary School and High School students, parents, staff and the community.

The location for this school is wrong.
- The oval is highly valued by the community. Most weekends there are major events located on the oval, football to senior citizens events and community events celebrating Australia Day, Anzac Day etc. Through the week it is used by many people both locals and those visiting Bungendore. This space is currently well used and is not sitting neglected waiting for a better use.
- The location of the current swimming pool is in walking distance for all residents of Bungendore - old and young.
- The high school needs to have space to thrive and develop into the future.
- The high school location needs to work with the local community.
The current location turns its back on the future needs of a high school as well as the current and future needs of the community.

Bungendore's students are once again being short-changed by the Department of Education The town needs and deserves a full-scale, fully-provisioned and resourced school that the region can be proud of. What the Applicant has proposed in this amended application falls short of minimum standards let alone a proper school for a growing community.

1. The 'dual track' application process suggested in the DoE application raises serious legal concerns and appears to be an attempt by the Applicant to circumvent the Crown Land Management Act (CLMA).

Following the decision by Her Honour Justice Pritchard in the Land and Environment Court in Save Bungendore Park Inc. v Minister for Education and Early Learning on 13 December 2023, the Applicant requested the consent of the Minister for Lands and Property to lodge development application SSD-14394209 on 29 December 2023. This consent was not given, presumably because the Minister determined that he could not lawfully consent to an unlawful use of Crown Land.

That the Minister for Crown Land refused consent to the original development application on this site because of concerns it would breach the Act should prevent the Applicant proceeding down a dual-track application process, which seeks to circumvent the Minister and the Act. The presumption that it can go down this path raises serious concerns that this is merely an attempt to force Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) to make questionable legal decisions about approving future development on Reserved Crown Land.

2. It is not clear how the Applicant would be able to make any development application required for works to be undertaken outside the school site.

For QPRC and the public to properly understand the proposed development, the Applicant should be required to lodge a single, integrated application rather than a confusing, piecemeal series of applications for different aspects of the proposal over the life of the development. The approval process should apply to the whole of the development prior to commencement of works or approval should not be granted at all. Anything less than this could be seen as an attempt at obfuscation by the Applicant and would not be in the interest of best practice planning processes,

3. Reserved Crown Lands are, by definition, reserved for a particular purpose. The Crown Lands associated with this development are reserved for public recreational use. This falls outside their proposed use as described in the amended application.

The Amendment Report’s reference to “the remainder of the high school works” being approved under a separate pathway makes it absolutely clear than any ancillary works proposed to be undertaken on Council or Crown land are for the purpose of the proposed development. “High school works” are not works undertaken for the purpose of public recreation (a use to which the reserved Crown land is restricted) and I am concerned whether QPRC is even legally permitted to approve or undertake works on Crown land which is dedicated or reserved for public recreation.

It is opaque as to how the Applicant has concluded that it may undertake works on Crown land or Council land for the purpose of facilitating the school development when the Minister for Crown Land evidently concluded that he could not consent to such works without breaching the CLMA.

The approach taken by the Applicant, if approved, places QPRC in legal jeopardy and this cannot be in the best interests of delivering a good school for a great community. I respectfully request that the amended application be refused approval and that an alternative, more appropriate and more straightforward site be selected and developed.

I am writing to you in support of the proposed permanent site of Bungendore High School. Our community desperately needs a permanent site for its high school. Students currently attend a high school made out of demontables, which impacts the opportunities available to these students, and deters other students from attending the much needed school.

I strongly believe that the current site is the best site available, on the proposed Majara / Gibraltar precinct. There are significant benefits in co-locating the high school with the primary school and preschool from both an educational perspective as well as a social/community perspective. Educationally, it includes:

- supporting students studying early childhood as part of their HSC due to the close connections that can be built with the preschool;

- allowing for additional opportunities to be provided to students struggling to achieve academically. For example, students can be involved in buddy programs to allow them to practice their reading in a non-threatening way. As a high school teacher in a school where there are some students with a kindergarten/year 1 reading level, this could be invaluable to those students in continuing to build their literacy skills;

- linked to the above point, funding for programs to support those who are not achieving academically could be better utilised to support students across both the high school and primary school with the close location of these programs to both the high school and the primary school. This could result in our students and young people increasing their academic outcomes, and thereby increasing their available options post-school;

- opportunities for those students who are excelling with their education in primary school to be extended further by creating additional opportunities to start to engage with high school content at an earlier age (as an example, students in year 6 who are able to work at a year 7 level for math could be supported by the high school teachers in continuing to develop their math literacy, with this support being able to be continued into their high school years. This is by no means limited to math);

- support students studying PDHPE and PDHPE related subjects by allowing them opportunities to develop sporting programs for young people and then implementing them and by assisting to organise the various sports carnivals that are held by both schools. This is something that the schools have already been doing, with much praise from the students involved;

- provide increased opportunities for the students in the primary school to access a greater range of facilities. For example, the use of the High School's science labs to further develop their interest, knowledge and skills in science, especially for those students who need and should be extended in science;

- improving orientation and transition to high school opportunities for students

The above are just some of the educational benefits.

For the community and social considerations, locating the school on the proposed Majara / Gibraltar precinct would allow for the school to be integrated into the community and would support community service programs set up by the high school to better involve the students in the community and encourage them to give back to and support their community. We frequently hear complaints about the young people around town cause some mischief or make some bad decisions. We need to ensure that our young people feel connected to and valued by this town. Building this high school and making it our priority not only shows our young people that we value them and place importance on their education, it also provides a significantly greater ability to create opportunities for building their connection with our community.

Further, it supports the development of our local sporting and other groups within the community as young people are looking to participate in activities that are based in Bungendore rather than travelling to the area in which they go to school. This in turn encourages additional opportunities for new activities to be established in Bungendore, further supporting our young people in their own personal development, and the development of their connection to the community.

For families, the location allows for students to be at one central location. This is particularly important for those families who are travelling to attend Bungendore for school so that they are not having to attend multiple locations. It also supports those families where their high school student(s) are to collect, take home and care for during the afternoons any siblings at the primary school. Having this option for after school care reduces the demand on the current after school care options (which are limited), meaning that places can be used by those who really need to use the after school care places.

The planned high school will not remove the park, and the park has negligible use during school hours. Further, as currently proposed, the planned high school will not affect those groups who do use the park, especially as the use of the park occurs outside of school hours. As a regular user of the school oval outside of school hours, I cannot foresee how the use of the park during school hours will detrimentally affect those who use it outside of school hours. We already have within the community an excellent example of an asset that is shared between the primary school and the council. The school hall is successfully shared between the school and the members of this community on a regular basis. We see the hall being used all year round for basketball, and this arrangement has been successfully in place for a large number of years. To then claim that shared assets do not work, as has been argued on many occasions, is disingenuous.

Furthermore, in response to concerns that the site is too small, building the high school on the current proposed site has the ability to future proof Bungendore Public School. In a community that is expanding with significant residential development, Bungendore Public School will outgrow its current site. Where this is occurring and the Bungendore High School is outgrowing the intended site, there is the ability to relocate the High School to an alternative site and have Bungendore Public School expand into the current proposed High School site. This will support the ongoing provision of first class education facilities for all students within Bungendore.

There is no logical reason to delay delivery of the high school, and to do so would be to the detriment of the current students of Bungendore High School, the approximately 500 students at Bungendore Public School and the many students at other nearby schools.

attachment supplied

I understand that the School at the current proposed site will not be able to cater to the growing population within Bungendore nor the surrounding rural areas within a very short timeframe.
The proposed site for the School would remove local and visitor amenities and public space.
The proposed site would further add to the already highly congested car, pedestrian, bus and bike traffic on streets surrounding the primary school. Drop off and pick up times are already very dangerous. I could not imagine this situation becoming further degraded by the addition of High School traffic.
Bungendore and neighbouring areas deserve a long term solution for our High School, one that does not impact on our town park and degrade the livability of our town.

,
New High School in Bungendore Application No. SSD-14394209

I still strongly object to the NSW Government Planning Industry and Environment Exhibition of State Significant Development Application SSD-14394209 New High School in Bungendore
for the following reasons :

Your ‘revised” document does not address my main objection : the proposed site! My other objections remain relevant too.

There has been no effective consultation on other sites. I do not object to a high school in Bungendore. I object strongly to its proposed site. I understand that there are other perfectly acceptable sites. Indeed, a site was chosen on Tarago Road, the landowner notified and detailed planning about to begin. I wonder at the thought processes that have led to the current and only site proposal, in the centre of Bungendore, taking out the park and ruining the heritage and heart of Bungendore. Surely there is more to this than meets a reasonable eye! Qui bono? Follow the money!

As someone who regularly drives past the park, I assume that there will be a lot of traffic congestion. Many of the proposed students will be coming from the surrounding rural areas of Wamboin and Bywong, and elsewhere. These are large communities and one assumes that car will be the mode of transport, to and from school. Have these students been accounted for in the proposal or just those from the immediate Bungendore area.

To my knowledge, there has not been any proper survey of opinion in Bungendore and surrounding areas, which asks about support for the site and not just support for the high school. This proposal has split Bungendore and led to some very distasteful spats. Surely this indicates a flawed process in deciding the site. It should be started from scratch!

I refer you to the 16 page brochure from the Bungendore Park Action Group which covers all the issues I agree with and recommend its contents to you. It sets out in great detail the reasons why you should reexamine this Application and start the process from the beginning again.

I am a member of the ALP. I have not made any donations which would add up to $1,000.00 in the last several financial years.

Reportable Political DonationsÂ
A donation is any single donation or combination of donations adding up to or exceeding $1,000, as defined by the Election Funding and Disclosures Act, 1981, made to the benefit of the party, elected member, group or candidate. (NSW Dept of Planning)

Yours Sincerely,

Judith Miller






Judith Miller
93 Wyoming Rd.,
Bywong NSW 2621
0408150616

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

New High School in Bungendore
State Significant Development –
SSDA 142394209 plus Amendment
OBJECTION

My links to Bungendore go back to 1981, more than 40 years – and that includes bringing up three children via Bungendore Public School, and how they then had to travel away for their secondary studies. After buying my own home here in 2015, I’m also keenly aware that in 2024 Bungendore is no longer a ‘village’ but a rapidly growing family-oriented residential township, with large and thriving regional catchment area.
I know how much we NEED a new High School here.
This opinion is backed by my years working as a Remote Area District Nurse-Manager in Central Australia – I understand how important access to well-established educational can be for both for parents for the children involved. But my bachelor degree in Social Studies from Sydney University also tells me that this must benefit of the WHOLE community – not just the teenage cohort, at the expense of everyone else. And I do enough work within a good half-dozen community groups to know what Bungendore’s talking about – we’re not just upset about the Department of Education’s takeover of our hard-won community facilities, we’re angry that they refuse to listen to commonsense.
And this why I don’t just OBJECT to this proposed SINSW Amendment re SSDA 142394209 but am furious that the Department of Education will not heed what Bungendore needs – a High School that’s fit for children, fit for purpose – and for the future.
I object to wasting time, angst and taxpayer money on a make-do alternative to the existing demountables. This amended version is already scaled-back school on a scaled-back site, and with scaled-back schooling – look at the changes in science facilities, in music studies – let alone an AgPlot that’s now so reduced in function it’s little more than token open space to make-good the LACK of open space in the main BHS site.
I particularly object to the fact that this AgPlot area, which used to be a key part of our Bungendore Common and which I often used for dog-walking, is now just a convenient add-on, to be used for generalised planting and “harvesting”. In effect, a glorified vegie patch – not an area for anything like proper agricultural education.
The Amendment says no buildings for farm equipment, so where will the kids stored the spades and forks, the mulch and manures, the buckets and hoses, the muddy shoes and gumboots ? And when the kids do cart all their gear back to the main school – I don’t see any space for ag-plot storage, and they’ll need lots. Can’t see any on the plans.
For instance - where will they store the “ride-on mower” that’s going to be on the move through that pedestrian gate – the sole access point this BHS can devise now they need to “avoid:” Crown Land – and IF the Roads Act lets them use it. Where will they safely store the fuel the mower needs ? Or will it be electric, with safety storage for batteries ?
And where are toilet facilities for the AgPlot kids? Do they have to rush back (over a wombat crossing at busy Turallo Tce) to the main school ? DoE has long abandoned any swap-plan re storage facilities for the Scouts – so those loo’s aren’t going to be available.
On the subject of fuel and power-supply– where do SINSW intend to put the big back-up diesel generator they’re going to need. We know this because electricity supply in that part of Bungendore is so dicey that they had to install a big diesel generator room alongside the demountables, just to get started there. That’s at least 8m long – we know from recent history during renovations at just one nearby hotel, that the back-up generator will need to be much bigger, even just to complete construction – much less run the school. Anyone assessing this Amendment needs to know that this is a BIG problem, because with no back-up power on site, this WHOLE site is no longer viable. – and the demountable drama proves it !
However another site problem is by far my biggest objection and it’s so fundamental to the site that it cannot be ignore, nor overcome.- The issue is LEAD contamination.
By definition a school involves children – and I have seen enough technical information (including revelations regarding serious misrepresentations re lead information in the EIS) to now realise that this site is not FIT FOR CHILDREN. There’s so much uncertainty re lead and asbestos contamination, it’s simply not safe enough to be a school.
In April 2023 the EP&A declared the area as “significantly contaminated” - with lead right along the railway, and on all sides of the BHS site. In my experience, wind or water-tables do not, and cannot, stop at site boundaries. When it comes to lead near kids, there’s only one rule - WHEN IN DOUBT – DON’T.
I am also aware that there are other legal questions to be resolved re this Amendment, and indeed for the original 2021 application re SSD-14394209.
In fact, another powerful reason why I object comes from the years of DoE obfuscation, media manipulation, the fakery re community facilities – an insult to us all in the Bungendore community.
And a “maybe” promise now re the Swimming Pool does nothing to calm my fury re a site-scenario that should never have been allowed to happen in the first place.

I’m appalled (and constantly inconvenienced) at the Majara St closure, the Bungendore Park and Pool manoeuvres, the court case lost – and over $19million already spent with not a brick laid, and apart from flapping fabric ‘fencing’ - and nothing to show for it, but more legal problems in store.
The BHS in this Amendment is going to start under-size, and the recent catchment figures show conclusively that it’ scheduled to be obsolete within 10 years – yet it’s locked onto a site where there’s not only no room to grow – there’s not even enough play-room in the current plan to meet DoE minimum guidelines for open space.
They’ve removed the gym areas. What’s left is little more than two basketball courts and a cricket net – and this for 450 students. How many of those kids would get a chance to use them even once a fortnight, let alone once a week or every day ? It’s cruel, and it contradicts all the evidence of what’s needed for access to healthy outdoor play. As both an ex-nurse and a Mum, I demand a better deal for our Bungendore kids.
This BHS project is a $71 mill construction that’s supposed to be providing full “regional” education for an expanding township, with major residential developments currently underway. The catchment area is rapidly growing as well. This Amendment is so undersize, so cramped, it’s a waste of money before it’s even built.
So I agree with DoE when they indicate there may be consideration of another, perhaps more suitable, site. They should have realised this in 2021, when their own experts said this one was “unworkable”. The recent attempt by SINSW to “review-wash” the 2020 site selection process is an insult to community know-how. The report by that so-called “Independent Reviewer” is a joke. Now they’re now trying to get around problems with a few loopholes to avoid Crown land law. Won’t work.
So my support for a new BHS is strictly conditional – it must be an open GREENFIELD location, big enough for a TRULY REGIONAL, AGRICULTURAL High School all on one site, and with plenty of room to grow – not just “enough” – but AMPLE for generations to come.
There ARE other sites available for such a BHS – and I believe that building on them would be years faster that this current plan. Because, if this Amendment gains consent, there is no doubt it will end up in court again – ie years more demountables and delay.
I urge you to heed the above Objections – and the many others (especially those against the truly abysmal parking plans) that will be lodged in this Exhibition period.
Thank you.
Kathleen M. Maher
60 Duralla S, Bungendore. 2620.
Mob. 0411 746 293

Note: I have made no notifiable political donation, not ever.

I object to this reopened DA to develop a High School in Majara st Bungendore. Several serious issues regarding public safety including lead contamination, traffic flow and pedestrian safety have not been addressed by this version of th DA.
The premise that this site is best and quickest as infrastrucure is in place has already proven to be incorrect eg power supply to interim school is a generator and the sub station has still not been upgraded. This version of DA DOES NOT address timelines to upgrade power water and storm water all required for a buidling of this size to operate on this site . Time constraints should be listed even if QPRC or others need to do this infrastructire work.

futher comments in my attached document

I object to the High School being built on Bungendore Park as parking and traffic will be chaotic and dangerous – It is BAD PLANNING

‘I object to the High School being built on the proposed site and believe there are much better alternative sites around Bungendore. It is important to preserve and conserve the historical aspects of Bungendore. Building the high school on the proposed site will destroy the heritage of the village. There are many historical buildings around the site and this park in the centre of the village is important to the community. It is essential that this park is kept for the community's use and for the many activities and events that happen here. The current plans for a high school on this site are flawed. Parking is a huge problem and inadequate planning for a growing population is poor planning. An alternative site with more space available is a much better proposition.
Elizabeth Cameron Wilson

My previous objection still applies and many of the issues I raised were never responded to by the applicant. Please take my previous objection into account in addition to the following matters:
1. LOSS OF COMMUNITY ASSETS AND AMENITIES - It is the responsibility of the applicant to replace community assets and amenities lost as a consequence of the proposed development. The amended DA makes no mention of how these will be replaced. Council has no funds for this work.
2. THE PROPOSED SCHOOL BUILDINGS ARE TOO SMALL - The size and quantity of buildings has been reduced in the amended DA while the projected student numbers in the DA remain at 450, the same as in the initial DA. Furthermore, the applicant has since acknowledged that projected student numbers will in fact far exceed the number initially provided.
3. THERE IS NO PLAN TO SAFELY ACCOMMODATE STUDENT AND TEACHER PARKING NEEDS - Most if not all of the 41 teaching staff will be driving to the proposed school and a large proportion of the students will either live more than 2.5kms from the proposed site or in distant rural towns and villages included in the catchment area. Public transport options are not a viable option in this rural area, which will necessitate the use of cars either for drop off and pick up or driven by the students themselves. The proposed school would be located in the middle of Bungendore's historic, mainly residential precinct where parking options are extremely limited. A preschool and scout hut are also located in this area and any drop off zones for the high school will be chaotic and very dangerous.
4. SITE CONTAMINATION - The applicant has consistently dismissed the EPA's significant concern regarding contamination of the railway corridor which is runs very close to the proposed school site. Warning of long term harmful health effects, the EPA specifically advised against development of areas adjacent to the railway corridor for residential or school development.

This current submission is totally inadequate in terms of projected numbers of student intake and totally inadequate in terms of facilities for student population - it is a half school and does not meet needs of area needed to provide effective diverse educational objectives of a regional high school.
Before this plan can even be considered the issues of contamination of site by lead and asbestos needs to be resolved as any substantial works could release contaminants into atmosphere. Also the traffic congestion issue already a problem in proposed area has not been addressed adequately in this submission.
We need a high school but not on a site that threatens the social cohesion and facilities in this area. The park is crown land provided to the community for the communities use not to be taken away by a government department. The school should be located in a greenfield site as was done in
Jerrabomberra and Googong schools. Such a site allows for growth and room for a proper high school and not a mean half school inadequate for long term growth.

We have so much vacant land around. The increase of traffic lack of parking will cause major problems.

The High School doesn’t meet DOES requirements on size.
Our children deserve the same as Jerrabomberra High School and Googong.

I don’t agree to the amended DA.

The Bungendore High School is an absolute necessity; however, the current planned site is totally insufficient for the needs of the area. With a capacity of 450 students and a catchment area of close to an existing 1000 students, if it were to open tomorrow, it would not be able to accommodate the existing number of students without expanding across the oval that belongs to the NSW Lands Department. The proposed expansions to the existing plans will in no way accommodate the existing student numbers, let alone the extras coming from the ever-increasing population of Bungendore. Lets' face it, the site is just too small for the job unless the DoE keep adding more floors to the buildings, but even then, there is insufficient parking onsite for the current expected number of vehicles let alone any increase. This will mean more of the nearby streets will become overcrowded with vehicles during school hours, parking on, and damaging, the verges, that have to be maintained not by the council, but the property owners. Driveways will be obstructed restricting access to properties and creating a pedestrian nightmare. Already the traffic increase to Turallo Terrace has increased significantly with speed and impatience being major factors of concern. If the streets end up with carparks added, this will create another issue during wet weather when there is already insufficient drainage in the street for the rainwater run-off. As it is, whenever it rains, the water runs off the street down our driveway, washing the stone away and flooding our back yard as the water can't get away because we have the levee bank running through our property, with a low area in our yard where the water pools for days following a rain event, rendering part if the property inaccessible without wading through the water. If the council can't fix the existing issues, how are they going to rectify things when the issues multiply by the building of a high school across the road.

I object to the project for the following reasons:
1. INADEQUATE SIZE OF PROPOSED SITE - Bungendore Park is demonstrably far too small to accommodate the infrastructure required to support the projected number of students projected by DoE. Bungendore Public School has a current Year 6 cohort of 342, which suggests that the student cohort at the proposed school will dramatically exceed capacity and traffic estimates, and which will place unacceptable strain on local infrastructure. This has not been addressed in the Amendment Report. The Department of Planning and Environment requested the Applicant to provide proper catchment data in the “Key Issues List” dated 26 October 2022 but this was not provided.
Given the apparent inconsistency between the proposed school capacity and the likely cohort currently resident within the school catchment, as well as the Applicant’s refusal to supply such data, it is clear that the current application fails to realistically assess the impact of the proposed development on local infrastructure and the town in general.
2. PUPIL/TEACHER NUMBERS AND THE IMPACT OF CATCHMENT AREAS OUTSIDE BUNGENDORE - The Amendment Report suggests that the school will employ 41 teachers, the vast majority of whom (according to the Transport Assessment) will travel by private car. Any increase in student numbers will demand a proportionate increase in teaching staff and demand for parking spaces. However the applicant fails to state how adequate parking for the initial teacher cohort, or how any future increases in staff numbers may be accommodated. The Transport Assessment concludes that a majority of students attending the proposed school will travel from outside Bungendore village. Estimates of transport modality set out in the assessment assume significant public transport use and car sharing. In a rural area these are unlikely to be met. The Applicant has failed to demonstrate that these are realistic and achievable and they are not a sound basis for determination of the development application. The Transport Assessment notes that 169 of the 342 (or 49.4%) of the Year 6 cohort currently zoned to the proposed school live further than 3.6km away from the school, meaning active transport is impractical. A large proportion of students will be driven to school. The mode share assessment set out in the Transport Assessment is based on centres in the greater Newcastle, Wollongong and Sydney metropolitan regions. These are densely populated areas with significant public transport infrastructure and are not an appropriate comparison for the proposed Bungendore High School. This is not an appropriate basis for considering likely transport modality for the proposed development, noting that the catchment for Bungendore High School extends 50km to the northeast and similar distances in other directions. The Applicant has failed to set out a reasonable basis for the Transport Assessment.
The Applicant’s assessment of traffic and parking demands of the proposed development cannot be supported on the evidence. The Applicant must be asked to submit realistic and properly-founded assessments.
3. CONTAMINATION - On 4 April 2023 The EPA issued a declaration of significant concern regarding contaminants found on the Captains Flat/Bungendore railway corridor and cautioned against residential and school developments adjacent to the corridor. The EPA states “Elevated levels of lead and arsenic were found after completing shallow soil sampling on the land. Potential harm may be caused to human health and the environment due to the presence of contaminants. EPA believes the land is contaminated significantly enough to warrant investigation under the act because of potential of harm to human health and harm to the environment”.
“The approved use of adjoining land for residential and school purposes may increase the risk of harm caused by contaminants of the land”.
“There is potential for contaminates to have migrated or are likely to have migrated from the land by way of airborne dust or mobilisation of sediment in surface runoff”.
The Applicant has consistently downplayed the EPA's findings and warnings of potential serious harm.
4. OBFUSCATION AND DELIBERATE USE OF UNFATHOMABLE MATERIAL - Private citizens do not have legions of staff to filter information and provide summaries of key points. The amended DA with its numerous attached assessments is deliberately daunting and impossible to read and analyse by most individuals facing the challenges of work, children and family life.
Furthermore the amended DA and the proposed “dual-track” approval process has been conceived in an effort to circumvent the Crown Land Management Act (CLMA). It is suggested that the Applicant will “progress the proposal for the remainder of high school works in the separate planning pathway application with a view to minimise any gap between delivery of the two proposals…” The materials posted on the Major Projects website are voluminous and contradictory. It is not clear what this “separate planning pathway” will involve, what works are contemplated or the basis on which those works may be permitted.

I write to put my objection to the site location on record. The site proposed was produced through great political haste, and not based on a fair assessment. My objection is based on the following issues.
1 Mick Sherd oval is a community resource and should not be traded off to solve a political problem. It affords great space and an amenity not only for sports but for families and community members to exercise and relax in a sadly diminishing space.
2 Community spaces in Bungendore township are quickly diminishing as the town grows apace. 3 So called Greenspace is an important requirement for a healthy community.
4 Cars, transport and parking. The suggestion that this space can cope with additional traffic is laughable. The experience since the "demountable" high school commenced shows that vehicle movements and parking spaces have become a real issue, and a danger to children, parents and other community members in the area.
5 The site is unhealthy. regardless of what the reports say, the lead contamination issue has not been resolved and will remain an issue that by unknown circumstances, can become a real problem in the future and potentially many decades.
6 Site space - the site is not large enough for a high school. The school enrolment numbers have not taken into account the future growth of the town and its drawing zone as development pressures increase. The only control is the limit on water drawn from the Lake George aquifer, however a canny developer will find solutions to that in association with rural land holders. Where will the school continue to grow to meet this expectation?
7. Town amenity - all schools produce a level of noise and this will vastly increase with an additional school built nearby the current primary school. This has not been considered and should form part of the planning process.
8. Impact on local residents - to thrust the imposition of a new education facility on people who have lived or moved in to the precinct because of its outlook, is inconsiderate and i sympathise with those who are now going to live among additional traffic, noise and car parking due to this ill thought out proposal.
9 The impact on the proposal has already changed the nature of the town, with the loss of the council facility, easy access to the rail station due to parking, loss of space in the park, loss of the swimming pool in easy walking distance in the centre of town, loss of road access and loss of green space below the scout hall. I strongly object on the grounds that the community cottage has been closed, removing the facility for medical equipment storage and distribution, loss of the
"Abbeyfield" Aged Care project, leaving them now years behind as they struggle to find suitable space.
10 Educational opportunities - having taught for many years in rural regions of NSW, and suffered the issues of teaching in demountable buildings, indicates that the plan has not considered as its priority the educational opportunities a modern, open spaced high school should take into account. A high school is not an industrial building with a chalk board at front. A modern school design must take into account the learning needs of all students, including those with special needs or those with special talents - those that can develop in an appropriate environment.
11 Land - I find the argument that there is no suitable land available a laughable proposition. Clearly land developers can find it with ease. There is also clear ability for planning or education department infrastructure staff to negotiate transfer of other community assets, such as the council chambers, into the education portfolio. Notwithstanding the broken promise when council mergers were pushed that no services or staff would be lost, the opposite has occured - I should be surprised! A huge parcel of land exists in Ellendon Street for example, currently occupied by the QPRC depot, and space to move a depot exists at the waste transfer facility.
It is for these reasons I reject the proposal. The impact on the town, its heritage, community, traffic and children is too great. A new high school needs to be capable of meeting the needs of the community, have the ability to grow, provide its own facilities so the community facilities remain available to them. School sports afternoons are an example where the school(s) take over the facilities meaning that older community members, young children, parents and visitors have to avoid them during these times.
I submit my objection.
Greg Roberts