New High School in Bungendore

The site chosen by DOE is not appropriate.
The school site will be too small, on toxic land, ruin traffic flow, cause chaos, will not be able to grow with the need and likely need to re locate in a short space of time, and has no plan for an oval. There are other land options and these must be considered. This is not an objection to a new high school for Bungendore it is an objection to the site chosen by a crook and a mayor. Both long gone. Stop wasting time and money- it should never have happened on that land.
D O E you can build a great school on a much more suitable piece of land for the kids that will attend. STOP now. Admit that the project was ill conceived and is being shelved on that site and another site being investigated.
I am a supporter of Save Bungendore Park Inc.

I object to the proposal. I stress that I do NOT object to a High School in Bungendore, but there are serious limitations with the currently proposed site in Majara Street. The problems arise from the size of the Majara Street site and errors of fact in some proposal documents. The consideration of alternative site options MUST be an open and transparent process.

I support this project in its current proposed location.

I object to the project for the following;
1. The site is not suitable due to size and does not allow for future growth
2. The site proposed is on Crown Land which was set aside for the town to use not the Department of Education, This is not aligned to the Current NSW Government policy wanting to create green space in towns and cities
3. The School Building does not link with the heritage of the surrounding area
4. The proposal has not provided any traffic management plans and includes the closure of a major road to achieve the high school, this is after numerous requests.
5. No Consideration has been given to the traffic as proposed child care centre with in 500 m of the high school that will add an additional 170 people this means that over 1200 people in area.
6. The proposed relocation of the aged care/assisted living residences between the scout hall and preschool will see some of our more vulnerable community members at risk from increased traffic, and overwhelmed by high school students. Given the alarming rise in student violence across NSW schools I hold grave concerns for our elderly citizens.
7. The NSW Education Department did not consult with the community and did not provided clear way of objecting to this proposal until now.
8. The site will take over the War Memorial and likely change the look and feel to the memorial
9. The proposal does not consider the effects to the community, or provide capacity for future growth
10. There is a fabulous new sporting precinct funded by taxpayers, and in a perfect site to have the High school co-located, the ‘excuse’ by DOE not to use the site due to flooding is unfounded. The extreme wet weather events we had during 2020 saw unprecedented flooding throughout Bungendore and saw flooding in areas that previously had not been inundated by water. During this flooding the sporting precinct remained ‘high and dry’.
I have been a resident of Bungendore since 1991 and have lived in my home on Turallo Terrace since 1999, I am yet to see a traffic management plan and given the volume of traffic currently the new school and associated 'extended parking lot' which Turallo terrace will become I have serious concerns for pedestrian safety, who will be at greater risk of injury from speeding cars and increased traffic.
Jan Andrews
Turallo Terrace, Bungendore

This much needed high school on the current site should have been built two years ago. 99.8% or Bungendore residents want the school built on this site as soon as possible. The current pool is unfit for purpose and must be demolished. Queanbeyan-Palerang Council should build the new council building and new swimming pool as soon as possible.

The Bungendore High School is long overdue and has been delayed by a small part of the community for too long. The plans are, and always have been, well thought out and perfectly suitable for the town. The proposal has been changed to meet every issue that has been ranged, even when they are as silly as road grid layout ( a feature that is not unique to Bungendore and is present in pretty much every town in Australia. I fully support the proposed high school as exhibited.

I support this project.

I would have shared more of my opinion on here, but knowing certain groups are incline to GIPA documents to use in a nasty manner means that I will not share my opinion for fear of retribution.

All I will say is: Adults, do better. You all owe the students of Bungendore and surrounds a strong apology for intentionally inteferring with their right to an education. And eventually, the wilful damage you have caused to their bonds with their community will start to become evident. You can't expect kids to thrive, when everywhere they turn there is a reminder that certain factions wish they weren't there. I am of course referring to the students of the town that have seemingly been forgotten while adults argue for their own personal gain.

Support the project at the proposed site because it is within an education precinct, is not on flood prone land, and within waking distance from most residential areas. Bungendore needs a high school to accommodate the growing population of Bungendore and surrounding region. My support for the high school is conditional on addressing any traffic impacts on residential areas and adequate compensation to council to fund a new council building and public swimming pool.

I object to the location of the proposed Bungendore High School. The size and design of the school will affect the heritage value and aesthetic of the surrounding area. It will impede on the many community facilities and events in the area which will negatively affect the community as a whole. It will increase traffic in the existing busy school zone posing an increase in danger to young children in the primary and preschool localities. There is no capacity for expansion to accommodate Bungendore and the outlying district's future needs. Bungendore needs a high school but not in the proposed location.

Bungendore needs a high school but it is a small country town and there is no justification for building on the Department's preferred site, which will involve taking over centrally located recreational land which is currently highly used, highly valued and much loved. We don't need to crowd the high school into this site and lose recreational open space, amenity, a central meeting space and history as well as create traffic mayhem for both the existing primary school, the proposed high school, the Turallo Creek park and all the surrounding residential streets. The planning process for this choice has been flawed from the beginning. The Department appears to want to push through with its choice, without properly considering the concerns of many residents in Bungendore and its surrounds. Given that the Department pushed ahead and developed building plans for this site in the face of considerable community opposition, it has created divisions in the community between those who want the school built as soon as possible (which will clearly involve using the existing plans) and those who want a proper town planning process suitable for such a significant project. That could all have been avoided if the Department had not taken the unreasonable approach of wanting to build the high school in the heart of the town, and to remove recreational open space from community use when the town is growing at a great rate. Another site should be chosen to preserve this much valued area, and ensure the future amenity and safety of the primary school.

06/07/2024
NEW HIGH SCHOOL AT BUNGENDRE NSW.
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING
OBJECTION TO-Submission Number -SSD-14394209 from NSW Department of Education
To whom it may concern,
I understand that the NSW Dept. of Education has lodged a revised development application for construction of new school buildings on Majara Street Bungendore. This new application was necessary because a previous application was found to be invalid by the NSW Land and Environment Court.
I have perused the new development application, and despite apparently having addressed a number of concerns raised in response to previous objections, I do not think the new development application is any great improvement over the earlier one.
In short, no matter how the proposal is dressed up in flowery language with academic sounding words the whole idea of building this new school on the presently proposed location was, and still is a particularly bad idea, and I am at a loss to understand why it was countenanced in the first place.
I strongly object to this project for the following reasons-
1. Unnecessary demolition of perfectly viable existing amenities and buildings with no clear plans or timelines (let alone finances) for their replacement- the existing swimming pool, a large portion of the Bungendore town park and the Council offices (less than 20 years old).
2. Major disruptions to the existing road network, including new construction of fairly extensive parking areas to service the new school.
3. Concomitant with points 1 and 2 above, it is obvious that general recreational and other activities-particularly for elderly Bungendore residents and visitors would be severely disrupted during the construction phase as well as when the school is completed.
The size of the school is modest (approximately 450 students I believe), and there is no really viable way it could be expanded on the presently proposed site to accommodate an expanded student population. Since significant further increases in population are envisaged for the Bungendore area, the relatively small physical size of the proposed high school would limit any sensible or viable ability to cater for increased student numbers.
There also appears to be some unresolved issues with respect to chemical contamination of parts of the proposed site.
Alternative Sites-
As far as I am aware there were and still are (at least) two vacant large “greenfield sites” available in Bungendore, at least one of which has already been found suitable for the school. Construction and operation of the new school on either of these two locations would dispel with all of the disadvantages and problems mentioned above.
Surely a “common sense” solution would be for the Dept. of Education to abandon their existing ideas and utilise one of these viable alternative sites for the school. If the Department of Education decides to embrace this approach, then I trust that The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure would make all reasonable efforts to expediate construction of the school and put an end to this issue which has become increasingly divisive within the Bungendore community.

Yours sincerely,
Robert Angel,

SSD 14394209
New High School in Bungendore
I object strongly to a high school (or anything large) being built on that site. I want a high school for Bungendore, but on an alternative (preferably greenfieds) site.
These are just a few of my reasons for objecting:
Bungendore Park and the Common provide both required green central space and a setting for our civic and recreational needs. We are talking about the central town park and its surrounding historic and civic amenities.We do not want a new, downgraded council chambers for example, when this one was built a mere 15 years ago and has been central to many important and memorable meetings. If the Council Chambers is deemed to be too big for present needs, part of it would make a fine and civilised community library.
Turallo Terrace provides a green swale backdrop to these civic buildings such as the preschool, the park, tennis club, the pool, community centre and council chambers, It is unfair to the residents of this street to have to now put up with 98 new 90 degree parking spaces which will brutalise what is now a relatively user friend street. Parking facilities needed for this high school will overwhelm the now already increasingly congested town centre and your protestations that the school will be consistent with “keeping the rural feel and lifestyle of Bungendore” ring hollow.
Questions hang over the affordability of replacement civic amenities, such as the pool, the council chambers and the community centre. More congested versions of most of these facilities will further take away from any rural ambience the town has left. More parking problems will arise in a town that already has parking issues due to a booming peripheral population that flocks in to the town daily.
Talking about peripheral populations, the catchment for the school is quite large and subject to subdivisions every single day. There will be more students from the catchment wanting to enrol than from the town itself. You have grossly underestimated the capacity for the school for 450 students. As we speak, the Queanbeyan Palerang council is pursuing the project of building a pipeline from Googong Dam to Bungendore to supplement the town’s artesian water supply. Once this happens, various developers waiting in the wings will be subdividing large tracts on the town’s outskirts. You will be left with a school within ten years that cannot cater to the population. Why shoehorn a school in this small space while destroying various civic amenities, when you can build a larger, built for purpose school on a more generous Greenfields site? Bungendore needs a larger site which would allow for school expansion.
Your rebuttal of the claim that it is inappropriate to build a high school in the block adjacent to the town’s two pubs argues that because a primary school is there now, it is obviously no problem to have a high school as well within a quick walk to the pubs. What a ridiculous statement! Primary school toddlers are supervised, whereas 16, 17 and 18 year olds are at an age when they would experiment with vapes (when they were available), drugs and alcohol. Surely it would be sensible not to put one pub (let alone two) in their face?
The projected resiting of the Abbeyfield House project is less than satisfactory.
I know two people who had hoped to retire to the to be built Abbeyfield House. Both were quite enthusiastic when it was slated to be built on either the Anglican Church grounds or the block adjacent to the Council Chambers. Now, projected to be built in a cramped space between the preschool and the Scout Hall, both said people have lost their enthusiasm. They have cited a lack of dedicated parking space and lack of room for a garden as great deciders. Abbeyfield is an old person’s housing project, but old people should not have to live in slum conditions.
A school on the Majara street site will abut the railway line and be next to a historic railway station. The railway station carpark is now an impromptu carpark for the interim temporary school. It is irritating when you have to catch a train to Sydney and hope you can find a space to leave your car there. If a high school is built adjacent to the station, the railyard will no doubt continue being an informal car park which will inconvenience rail users.
The school abutting the rail tracks is also dangerous. Many people remember a Bungendore teenager some years ago losing her life on the railway tracks.
In conclusion, there is no reason to deface that site while there are better Greenfields sites available
Sincerely, Angie Angel

While there is a need for a high school in Bungendore, the proposed location for the high school is not suitable for a number of reasons. The closure of a street in the centre of the town and removal of parking on the street, while increasing traffic around the pre-school and primary school, poses a safety risk, as there will be reduced parking and there are no footpaths. The current proposed site also does not have capacity to cater to a growing community, with no space for either the high school or the current primary school to expand to meet the needs of a growing community, particularly noting the number of new houses approved for development. Given a number of students will either need to catch a bus or drive to school, it would be far better to build the school on a site where there can be adequate facilities, including all required teaching facilities for a high school, a suitable agricultural plot, and space for the school to grow into the future to meet the needs of not only current high school students, but all students and their families into the future. The current proposed location is short sighted, will have a detriment to the town as a whole, and has a very real and significant risk of not meeting needs of students and the community into the future.

I am making this submission to voice my strong objection to this current proposal for the Bungendore High School.
I am, however, very much in favour of a new, and badly needed, high school for Bungendore. My only objection is to the proposed location, for the following reasons.
- This proposal would have serious negative impact on the historical heart of our town.
- This proposal would dramatically change the current oval, and it’s public amenity.
- This proposal would result in a school that would be extremely crowded very quickly, with nowhere to expand.
- This proposal would have serious traffic and pedestrian ramifications.
- There is no logical advantage to be gained from having the school in the heart of town.. most students would be travelling by bus or car, so a location on the edge of town would be perfectly feasible.

-

I object to the high school being built on public land, our town oval and park. I’m also concerned about future expansion of the high school as our population grows, there is no more room for this, without taking the entire oval. I object also to the unsafe traffic flow this project creates. A new suitable site needs to be found as we do need a high school.

Build the new Bungendore High School in a location that can grow with the population without taking away existing green space and infrastructure for the community. Re-zone an area in one of the new developments north of the village or near the new sports hub.
The Land and Environment Court of NSW (NSWLEC) declared the development consent invalid and set aside on 24 January 2023. There is strong opposition to the new high school being built on this site and previous feedback opposing the location is still relevant to this amendment. The site is not suitable for the proposal and never will be. An alternative, suitable and sustainable site should be identified, so the best new Bungendore high school can be built from the beginning without compromise.
This is the wrong location and comes at great loss of amenities and loss of access to open space for the wider Bungendore community. We will lose the community centre, the council offices (that could be repurposed for community use), 74 trees, the Poet’s corner, the dog off-lead area and recreational space. The Majara/ Gibraltar Street Precinct is NOT the preferred location as indicated clearly in previous submissions from the Bungendore community. A new education hub in another part of the town needs to be established to accommodate the growing population.
“The description of the proposal (New High School in Bungendore) remains unchanged from the original proposal. The intended outcome for the site remains unchanged and there are no changes to the number of students proposed”.
This amendment shrinks the size of the new High School by over 2000 square meters, does not incorporate the school hall, canteen or an agricultural plot, and intends to accommodate the same amount of 450 students.
The proposal amendment indicates that over time subsequent adjustments will be made to take over the Bungendore Common to include and not limited to a school hall and canteen as part of alternative planning pathways. The scope of works proposed as part of this amendment to the SSD Application does not include any proposed joint use arrangement with the community. Any joint use agreement proposed in future will be subject to the discretion of School management. This does not meet the objectives of RE1 zone. The amended proposal does not include any proposed shared use agreement over Mick Sherd Oval. While this may occur in the future, it would be subject to a future agreement between Queanbeyan Palerang Council and the School.
The new amendments would mean that the new High School will still be built in the RE1 Public recreational zone. This proposal does not meet the RE1 zone objectives of providing land to be used for public open space or recreational purposes, activities, to protect and enhance the natural environment for recreational purposes.
Areas of Environmental Concern (AECs), being Lead concentrations in some samples exceed the lead criteria for waste classification, placing them in the Restricted Solid Waste category, however a further Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure (TCLP) assessment may lower them to a General Solid Waste classification. A Remedial Action Plan (RAP) was developed, and contaminant sources included asbestos containing materials. Exposure pathways notes include the inhalation of respirable fibres.
The proposal is partially prohibited development under the Transport and Infrastructure SEPP. This proposal will contravene a development standard imposed by an environmental planning instrument. The proposal relies on this clause as it seeks a maximum height that contravenes the standard in QPR LEP 2022. This amendment to the proposal is pursuant to clause 4.38(3) of the EP&A Act 1979, which allows for consent to be granted to development which is partially prohibited by an environmental planning instrument. Educational establishments prohibited in all three zones under PLEP 2014. The proposals permissibility relies upon the requirements of the Transport and Infrastructure SEPP, which states that schools are permitted with consent in the R2 and SP2 land use zones. Overall, the proposed location is not suitable in any of the zones for the new high school.
This amended proposal claims that under the Education Act 1990, Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation Act) 1991, Notice of compulsory acquisition of land for public school was approved in the Government Gazette of 26 April 2022, this land is no longer designated as community land. The Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell, located in Sydney acquired the land. I argue as a member of the Bungendore community that this land is very much in reality “community land” and always should be.
The amendment claims that the proposed site is isolated from the town and neighbouring buildings. The Bungendore Common and the Mick Sherd oval are used extensively by the Bungendore community.
Rather than using the Council office site for the new HS, this building could become an additional community hub and a place for Youth to be welcomed. Years ago, the community was promised this site for a state-of-the-art Skate Park only to be told after approval of the site, that the new council offices were going to be built there. The skate Park was moved to a flood zone and was nothing like what was originally planned for the park. The community spent years raising funds, getting in-kind support from local businesses, then the Council changed their mind on the agreed site and the design of the project. The community lost out again, I fear this project is heading the same way.

I am against the proposed development for the following reasons:
- The Government’s construction plans on and around the historic Bungendore Park, destroy irreplaceable civic, community and recreational spaces (as before)
- The modified project proposal addresses none of the flaws of the original proposal.
- There exist numerous sites that have the capacity to support a high school without destroying civic infrastructure.
- The proposed plan will not be able to support a sufficient number of students to last into the future — the school is a temporary measure.

My view on this project hasn’t changed. If anything having the road closed has shown me how much chaos it will cause. There is such a bottle neck now with pick up and drop off of students. The School will not offer all the subjects that our students deserve. The DOE could offer so much more if they build a School that has room to grow. Having the Park fenced in School hours means the public won’t be able to access this. The Carpark at the NEW Park will need boom gates as it will be free for all to park and this will allow no access for the public to use the New Park.

A proper traffic study was never undertaken. The glossy brochures have been all that just glossy brochures.

We lost an after school care program when the DOE decided to take Our Community Centre. Families utilised this service and then they had to find care elsewhere.

We had a perfect council building till John Barilaro thought that this was the best site.

It’s not and never has been.

The High School does not need to piggyback the Primary School no School in the district does this.

The project as proposed places a new high school in central bungendore close to all major amenities. Having this high school would be of benefit to the growth of the town and to business in the town

I object to the new high school being built on the current proposed site for the following reasons:
1. The heritage feel of the parkland end of the Bungendore village will be ruined by modern buildings and the increase in traffic and people
2. The Dept of Education has not been open enough with current and future student numbers and whether the revised restricted site will provide a modern campus. I would like to see the demographic planning numbers for a viable high school with the limited number of buildings that the Department are currently proposal. The current application does not show any of these details and therefore lacking in completeness.
3. The dramatic change to the precinct will be all for nothing when the Department has to move to a new site when it gets overcrowded.