St Catherine's School - Upgrade

I am co-owner of [redacted] which stretches along Leichhardt Lane to the rear of [redacted] from the corner of Leichhardt St to Leichhardt Lane.

Our house is a two storey 1888 free standing Victorian terrace with original back house and rendered brick boundary walls towards rear.

Our objections are:

1. In relation to our ground level (approximately RL80) placing a new massive building with height RL101.08 (Fly Tower) next to a new even larger footprint massive building with height RL97.80 is completely inappropriate at the rear of a residential lane and so close to us. An approximately 20 metre building in this location is a complete overdevelopment. Its visual impact when seen from the rear of our house and from our back yard is not acceptable to us. Nor is it acceptable as seen from the streetscapes near us. A building half this height is about the limit of what would be acceptable given that there are 3-4 storey residential flat building nearby.

2. The massive amount of excavation and construction required to build such a building is also completely inappropriate in this residential setting. Again about half of what is proposed would be consistent with the precedents set in the locality by 3-4 level envelopes of adjacent residential flat buildings.

3. We strongly oppose heavy vehicle access up and down Leichhardt Lane for the purposes of construction during any of the prolonged construction phases (proposed over 15 years in total). Our building and Leichhardt Lane are not structurally designed to withstand vibration and loads from heavy vehicles. Construction access should be solely limited to be from Macpherson St. Leichhardt Lane does not have any footpaths and therefore there is no place for pedestrians to hide from heavy vehicles, their noise, polution and debris falling from construction vehicles. No construction or demolition vehicular access should be permitted via Leichhardt Lane.

4. We strongly insist on a condition that there be a complete and detailed pre Demolition Report of all structures on our land and of all Council kerb, gutter, road, footpath, green verge etc infrastructure along Leichhardt Lane and in the vicinity and that any damage caused by the contractors be repaired/replaced immediately and not at the end of any of the lengthy construction phases. It is not acceptable to wait for years until the end of construction of any phase or of the whole project is completed for rectification take place. Instead rectification must be timely.

5. Parking is at a premium and at a lack in this neighborhood. No dedicated parking or drop off is to be permitted during construction or operations at either of our two frontages.

6. We request that excavation, demolition and construction be permitted only during normal business hours and not on weekends or public holidays. It is not acceptable that this degree and amount of construction take place for example on Saturday mornings.

In conclusion we are not against the redevelopment of the school but insist that it must be done within what is reasonable within the context of this residential locality, with no unreasonable visual impacts on the street and neighbors. We also very strongly insist that Leichhardt Lane not be used at all for construction access and that detailed Demolition Reports are prepared of all our and Council property pre construction with immediate and workmanlike rectification of any damage caused.

Yours sincerely

Name Withheld

I support the application by St Catherine's School. My wife and I have daughters, one of whom has graduated from the school and the other will have graduated by the time the project is underway. My daughters will have left the school and will not therefore benefit directly from the project.
I support the project because it is an enhancement to the school and to the availability of quality education options for girls, particularly those residing in the surrounding suburbs. St Catherine's is a private school which is readily accessible to a wide diversity of students, many from families with relatively modest incomes. It is not an 'exclusive' private school, and hence serves a broad cross section of the community. Further, I believe it is good for the eastern suburbs community to be viewed as an educational hub, and the project improves St Catherine's a major part of that hub.
I consider that the project has been designed in an effort to minimize, indeed eliminate, any adverse effects on nearby residents. Parking and traffic congestion should not be impacted and I understand considerable care has been taken with respect to the height of the new building so as to not impact unreasonably on neighbours.
In summary I support the project without reservation.

Dear Sir/ Madam,
It is with pleasure that I make this submission supporting SSD 6339 St Catherine's School Campus Master Plan.
Having lived and owned a home on Pacific Ave Tamarama for nearly a decade I understand, have witnessed and enjoyed the best of what the Waverley Council area and the broader community around it offers.
I firmly believe the development under this submission adds tremendous value not only to St Catherine's School but also to the broader community.
With the provision of an aquatic centre, a performing arts centre, a research centre, a sports centre and with associate parking is a gift to the community at hand.
In offering these facilities to the girls attending St Catherine's and for the use also by the broader community we are encouraging and supporting both current and future generations to develop their skills in these areas.
In order to compete globally as a nation the provision of these facilities is key in educating our children.
The design is aesthetically very pleasing and clever in its multi purpose approach.

We have moved into our current address a bit over 18 years ago. At time our part of Hooper Street was a two-way street and there were usually 2-3-5 cars only parked there on a regular basis. We did suffer though every time there was an evening event at st. Catherine's school as the street was fully parked out till the time the event is over.

Over the years parking an traffic situation has deteriorated significantly. The number of near-miss accidents in the street resulted in its conversion into a one-way street. Parking situation has gone terrible and by now we have daily 2-3-5 trucks parking here as well as a boat that has not seen any water for the last 2-3 years.

By now we experience 2-3-4 cars from St. Catherine's school parked in the street on a daily basis. I am dreading to think what is going to happen when the proposed 500-sit theatre is built and every 2-3 night I will not be able park in the close proximity to home after work. Moreover, my wife is a legal recipient of the MPS sticker and as such we have a dedicated "disabled" car space in front our house. Unfortunately, disabled car spaces are available to park for any person with an MPS sticker and we have already experienced on a number of occasions situations when people legally or illegally park in this car spot. As far as I am aware - and I must say that being a local resident within 5-7 min walk from the school - I have NOT been notified by the school about the proposed development - St. Catherine's school plans to add ONLY 19 parking spaces for 500-sit theatre, 250-capacity aquatic centre and increase of 23% in student numbers, with associated staff increase.

Understanding desire of the school to grow, one should take into account interests of the local residents and introduce a 24 hr resident parking area within 1 km radius from the school.

As a final comment I must point to the fact that except for Saturdays' mornings when traffic is absolutely intolerable, morning peak hours (and I leave home typically between 7 and 8 am) it is an absolute nightmare to navigate both through Albion and Carrington in direction towards Bondi Junction.

We have moved into our current address a bit over 18 years ago. At time our part of Hooper Street was a two-way street and there were usually 2-3-5 cars only parked there on a regular basis. We did suffer though every time there was an evening event at st. Catherine's school as the street was fully parked out till the time the event is over.

Over the years parking an traffic situation has deteriorated significantly. The number of near-miss accidents in the street resulted in its conversion into a one-way street. Parking situation has gone terrible and by now we have daily 2-3-5 trucks parking here as well as a boat that has not seen any water for the last 2-3 years.

By now we experience 2-3-4 cars from St. Catherine's school parked in the street on a daily basis. I am dreading to think what is going to happen when the proposed 500-sit theatre is built and every 2-3 night I will not be able park in the close proximity to home after work. Moreover, I am a legal recipient of the MPS sticker and as such we have a dedicated "disabled" car space in front our house. Unfortunately, disabled car spaces are available to park for any person with an MPS sticker and we have already experienced on a number of occasions situations when people legally or illegally park in this car spot. As far as I am aware - and I must say that being a local resident within 5-7 min walk from the school - I have NOT been notified by the school about the proposed development - St. Catherine's school plans to add ONLY 19 parking spaces for 500-sit theatre, 250-capacity aquatic centre and increase of 23% in student numbers, with associated staff increase.

Understanding desire of the school to grow, one should take into account interests of the local residents and introduce a 24 hr resident parking area within 1 km radius from the school. My husband and I, as well as the majority of street residents, have approached Randwick City Council on the topic of establishing a resident parking area in the street, but unfortunately - to no avail.

I understand the need to continue to improve the facilities of the schools in the area to match the community's increasing expectations. At times the improvement will require construction of additional buildings.

To me, this is one of the times when expansion of St Catherine's School is needed.

Careful planning has kept the majority of the open spaces within the school as open.

I believe the plan is ambitious, but addresses the future requirements of the school.

Yours faithfully,
Bronte resident and father of two girls at St Catherine's School

I am in favour of this new facility that St Catherines is proposing. I think the buildings will benefit not only the school but the whole community. The pool will be an asset that can be shared with learn to swim needs of children in the local area.
It is also an important building for the girls of St Catherine as they will have access to a state of the art research facility, will have an area for exams, a theatre, dance studio etc. The building has been well thought out and flows within the school well.

I absolutely agree that schools need to invest back into their future growth and improving facilities for their students. This proposal is absolutely ludicrous however and is above and beyond what the area can sustain as far as traffic and events.
There is already insufficient parking and infrastructure for the existing school and residential community. The area is in gridlock every weekday morning. The area is in gridlock every weekday afternoon. The area is in gridlock every Saturday and Sunday - with the beach and park goers and Saturday school sports traffic in the mix - and whenever there is a school event on any given evening. This area simply cannot accommodate a greater school population with more events. Sometimes as with residential improvements, the improvements need to be within existing footprints; not creating such enormous developments that the impact on the immediate landscape and the community is a negative one.

My family totally support this application.
To improve the school for girls present and in the future is a good thing.

We are concerned about the following and object to the height of the building,traffic disruptions and available parking within the school premises to accommodate visitors.

1. Increased Traffic. At present we find it very difficult to take our car out from our garage due to the number of cars that use macpherson street during school hours when kids are dropped off and picket up from St Catherine's.

2. During school funcitons it get worse with parents/teachers parking very close to our diriveway which makes it difficult for us to park safely..

3. As residents living on Macpherson Street a few doors from St Catherine's we have had to put up with a lot of noise and traffic for a long time and the new development will only increase this further..

4. What parking is available within the school premises for this new development?

5. We are concerned about the height of the Theatre building

6. We are concerned about the construction time and the disruption to traffic.

7. We are concerned about the trucks using Macpherson street .

Thank you for your letter of 26 September 2014, informing the Heritage Division, Office of Environment and Heritage of the EIS in respect of development at St Catherine's School -SSD 6339.

There are no state heritage register items impacted. The Heritage Division does not propose to comments on the EIS.

Yours faithfully,

Marc Allas
Senior Team Leader

The impacts of this over development will be seen in increased levels of activity around the school boundaries, both during the day and at night, with its proposal for more events, higher student numbers, more teachers, parents, cleaners, volunteer staff, and office staff all working on site, more parking in local streets, larger and busier drop off and pick up zones and increased traffic problems in an already congested area.
As a result of adding only 19 new parking spaces on its site, the school intends to expand its use of on-street parking to include parking for all its evening functions. Many of these functions are planned to commence from 5.30 to 6:00pm which will mean that on street parking is already saturated when residents who normally park on the street return home from work. Residents will struggle to find spaces anywhere near their homes.
As a resident i am concerned about the potential for escalation of use of the school's new facilities day and night throughout the year. As a school, St Catherine's enjoys some privileges contained within the planning controls, for example it is exempt from requirements for off street parking. However, St Catherine's has diversified into commercial activities on its site, and the proposals for expansion increases these commercial activities in scale and hours of operation. Consequently the consent authority should now treat St Catherine's as a commercial organization without special planning privileges, and diligently apply the appropriate controls.

I Object to the proposed application due to the following:

The extra traffic congestion and stress on street parking that will be caused by the users of the aquatic centre and 500 seat theatre and the proposed additional students and teaching staff. This is already an area that is under stress from high volumes of school drop off and pick up from multiple schools.

The additional noise and pollution that will be bought into the residential area by those using the new facilities.

The lack of adequate parking for the increase in vehicles accessing the site putting further stress on the on street parking already in short supply. 71% of staff and 60% of students currently come to the school by car.

Yours Sincerely

Bernadette Hayes

St Catherine's school has already brought a traffic load to this residential area which has had a massive impact on the quality of life for residents. Congestion caused by cars backing up along Leichhardt street for school drop off and pick up is a daily hazard, creating significant air and noise pollution, as well as very poor behaviour from frustrated drivers approaching the Leichhardt/Macpherson streets roundabout. The incessant honking of horns during peak periods (from 7- 9am and 3-6pm), coupled with inappropriate speeds and impatient driving patterns leave pedestrians at a severe disadvantage as they attempt to move around the area. Just crossing the street is a dangerous enterprise as many motorists act as if this quiet neighbourhood is a super highway and local residents are annoying obstacles. I tremble to imagine what it's going to be like with a massive building construction zone in Macpherson street operating SIX days a week from 7am to 5pm. This is entirely inappropriate activity for a residential suburb. The school should look to acquiring more land or a new campus rather than destroying the fabric of our community with this industrial scale project. I believe the impact on our lives will be extremely detrimental and I do not believe a private school, which is after all a business, should dominate a small community in this way. How, in the end, do the hundreds of other people who live in this area receive any benefits from the school for the sacrifice we are being asked to make in terms of quality of life and peace of mind? I would suggest we have nothing to gain and everything to lose...

I live opposite DJSC and this end of MacPherson Street is already heavily congested during the school terms. If approved this development will impact even further on parking and traffic congestion due to its increased level of activities; more events, students, teachers, parents plus all the staff required for its operation.

It will be impossible for residents to find a parking place near their homes as the new facilities allows for all day, evening and night time, including weekend events/functions.

I feel St Catherine's could increase parking in the school grounds or provide underground parking. They could include a drive in/drop off and pick up area i.e drive in Albion St and out via MacPherson.

Regards

I have lived in Bronte Road close to St Catherine's School since 1988, my daughter attended St Catherine's for her high school years while my son attended Waverley College for six years.

I am not opposed to schools in the area improving their facilities or increasing their student numbers. However I have directly witnessed the negative impact on the area from the growing trend away from students using Public Transport. Every school day we suffer from unnecessary traffic chaos and congestion due to the number of parents driving their High School and Upper Primary School children to school when they could either walk, bus, train or cycle to school. Also, the loss of parking spaces in Leichhardt Street from the school and teachers parking their cars in the other streets.

I feel the time has come for Schools, Councils, Government to make it a mandatory requirement that in approving any school facilities growth that that Schools start a policy of actively discouraging dropping any High School age child to school. Should parents be fined who unnecessarily drop their children at school over a certain age or schools have to demonstrate that they are yearly enforcing a policy of students using Public Transport or walking to school.

The Waverley area is privileged with many buses and close to Bondi Junction Train service so there is no excuse for not being able to use Public Transport. In School Holidays traffic flows freely in the area but is in gridlock in the morning and afternoon during school drop off times.

I was appalled yesterday by a letter yesterday from the Headmistress of St Catherines saying that adding another 230 students will have a minimal impact from their Traffic and Transport Assesment on the area and those who need to drive through the area to go to work. Look at the present gridlock and staggering leaving times will only increase the misery of the gridlock over a greater period of time with that number of 230 parents daily collecting their children.

I feel that any approval on St Catherine's School Development or any other school in the area is conditional on a direct action policy of their students being directed to use Public Transport .

In the interests of transparency I disclose that (a) I am a parent of a Year 5 girl at St Catherine's School, and (b) I am a member of the Board of Management of the St Catherine's Foundation.

Through the latter role I have become familiar with the proposal in the Application. I am fully supportive of it. St Catherine's is a school of which the entire Eastern Suburbs can be proud, and has been an integral feature of Waverley and the wider region for over 150 years.

The proposal will provide the School with features that will help bring it into line with the many other excellent schools in the area, both independent and otherwise. It enhances the Eastern Suburbs' already strong reputation for top quality educational institutions.

Further, I understand that these facilities will also be made available to for use by local organisations outside the School. At a time when there is increasing pressure on available pools in the area, the learn-to-swim pool in particular will be a valuable local facility. Thus, the benefits will extend beyond the immediate School community.

I understand some concerns have been expressed about an increase in enrolments and associated traffic. The proposal itself does not involve any such increases; for example, it does not involve the building of any new classrooms. Certainly, as part of the 15 year Master Plan for the School it is predicted that perhaps an additional 200+ enrolments will be absorbed over that time but that is in line with the planning for other schools in an area which will, it is predicted, undergo significant population growth in the next two decades.

In conclusion, I believe the proposal in the Application will bring benefits not only to the School itself but to the broader region without signifcant additional external costs or burdens, and I urge the authority to grant the necessary approvals.

Yours sincerely

Dr Nuncio D'Angelo
Bishops Avenue
Randwick 2031

I would like to lodge my objection to the above development. I am particularly worried about been unable to park and go home. In the past when coming home form work on an evening when St. Catharine's School has been holding an event I have often had to stay in the car till 8.30/9.00pm and on occasion as late as 10.30/11.00. The Waverley Council have provided a Disabled Drivers Parking Place but when such events are on this has often been taken by cars, not always with a Permit, which. on nearly every occasion. have turned out to have been parked by someone coming from the school after the event had finished. Now it is proposed that such evening/night events will be much more common and in many, if not most cases, starting around 6.00pm long before I or most of the other nearby residents have made it home from work. Thereby preventing us having normal access to our homes.
The Application does not seem to be taken into account that there is also the Bronte RSL Development and the 2 Child Care Centres, the 1in MacPherson St just down and across from the School and the 1 on the grounds of the Bowling Club. Not only does this mean there are even more people needing even less parking places but it means that it it is possible that even more children could be put at risk by cars parking dangerously. Currently it seems risky when children are been dropped off/picked up. I had hope that the School would have planned a drive through the school grounds so the pupils could be dropped off/picked up away from the dangers of the public roads. Also the heights of the 1st proposed building seems to be much higher than allowed for in this area, surely this will lead to less light for building nearby and across the road as well as going against the regulations? Thank you for this opportunity to express my worries.

I live in the next street to the school. As it stands now there is a shortage of street parking for residents. Visitor parking during school hours is nigh on impossible. Due to the fact thee is no parking at the school.

In the evenings when there is an event at the school, the streets around are chaotic with cars trying to find places to park and many parking illegally.

I see the situation being that with the increased numbers of students projected and the increase in the size of school facilities it will be a complete nightmare in the streets around the school.

The school needs to provide adequate parking for the estimated visitors, teachers and students.

I object to the st Catherine's school campus Master plan on the basis of the following issues:
1) The school is already over it's approved student numbers and the local area is already straining under the impact of the volume of traffic generated and parking needed to support these students. This includes school staff, both teaching and support staff, as well as parents and friends, particularly when there is a school function on. The constant flow of building and maintenance workers, particularly in the school holidays, means a year round traffic and parking problem for the area.
2) The developments included in the master plan will increase the number of people and traffic in and around the school area. There is insufficient parking provided onsite in the plan and the local area cannot support this increase.
3) It looks like St Catherine's is trying to provide additional facilities to compete with schools located in less densely populated areas. Rather than all inner city schools building their own facilities like this, perhaps a shared set of facilities in a more appropriate area should be developed for the use of school groups. This will maximise their "bang for buck" and share the cost of maintenance and ensure maximum utilisation of the facilities.
5) As a local resident I witness many dangerous driving habits of the parents around drop off and pick up times. All local residents know to be careful and on the alert for the out of control driving and parking habits of the parents of St Catherine's school. This plan does not address this and only exacerbates it.