I am writing to formally raise my concerns and objections in relation to the proposed development of the Eileen O’Connor School within our local area.

While I acknowledge and respect the importance of providing quality educational facilities, particularly for children with additional needs, I believe the current proposal raises several significant issues that require urgent review before any approval is granted. My objections are grounded in the following points:

1. Traffic, Parking, and Road Infrastructure

The proposal does not appear to include any comprehensive plans to address the substantial increase in traffic and parking demand that will inevitably result from a school of this scale. The surrounding roads are not currently equipped to manage this volume of traffic, particularly during peak school hours. Without proper upgrades, this will cause congestion, increase risk to pedestrian safety, and place a strain on existing infrastructure.

2. Construction Impact on the Local Community

The construction phase, involving heavy vehicles, machinery, and associated works, will cause considerable disruption to a small and otherwise quiet community. This includes potential damage to existing roads, increased noise pollution, dust, and ongoing safety concerns. These impacts will not only disturb the daily lives of local residents but may also cause longer-term damage to public and private property.

3. Long-Term Noise and Environmental Disruption

Post-construction, the daily operation of a school will bring ongoing noise, increased traffic volumes, and general activity that is incompatible with the current nature of our quiet residential area. This change in the character of the neighbourhood must be considered carefully and respectfully.

4. Road Access and Upgrades – Gavenlock Road and Tuggerah Strait

It is imperative that any and all access to the new school is directed solely via Gavenlock Road. This road and its connection from Tuggerah Strait will require significant upgrades to support increased traffic volumes safely and efficiently. The current state of Gavenlock Road does not meet the standards necessary to act as the main thoroughfare for a development of this nature.

Given the concerns outlined above, I respectfully request that the current proposal be reconsidered until such time as:
• Comprehensive traffic and infrastructure assessments are completed.
• Clear and enforceable plans for road upgrades, particularly along Gavenlock Road and Tuggerah Strait, are confirmed.
• Construction impact mitigation strategies are developed and communicated to the local community.
• Consideration is given to the broader and long-term impact on the character and amenity of the area.

I trust that the views of the community will be given due weight in the decision-making process, and I welcome the opportunity to engage in further consultation should it be required.

I am writing to formally object to the proposed use of Keefers Glen, Mardi, as an access road for the new Eileen O’Connor Catholic School in Tuggerah. I strongly urge the planning authorities to abandon this access proposal in its entirety. Keefers Glen and the surrounding residential streets are completely unsuitable for the type and volume of traffic that will be generated by this school for the following reasons:

1. Keefers Glen is Inherently Unsuitable:

Keefers Glen is a narrow, residential street not designed to handle large volumes of traffic. It was built to serve a small number of local residents and is already constrained in terms of parking and maneuverability.

The proposed use of this street for a student drop-off and pick-up, and access to a 61-space car park, will introduce daily congestion, and create significant safety risks for residents, including young children.

Importantly, I do not support any road widening, reconfiguration, or traffic modifications to Keefers Glen or the surrounding streets. The street should not be considered at all for any form of school access — temporary or permanent as we have already experienced considerable traffic disruptions from the exisiting St Peter’s Catholic College with senior students and staff parking on Keefers Glen and being used as dropped off by parents, the situation became so unmanageable that the exisiting school has to lock the padestrian access gates.

2. Traffic Impacts Will Be Severe and Ongoing:

The school is expected to:
* Educate up to 200 students,
* Employ at least 71 teaching staff, and
* Host up to 100 construction workers daily during the build phase.

These volumes will place immense pressure on the existing road network. Local streets were not designed to support this level of traffic and will suffer from:
* Constant congestion during school peak hours,
* Inadequate on-street parking for residents and their visitors,
* Increased risk of vehicle and pedestrian accidents, and
* Decreased quality of life for residents due to noise, and disruption to the access of homes via the only way of entry.

This is not a temporary inconvenience — it is a permanent degradation of a quiet suburban neighbourhood.

3. Case Study: St Gabriel’s School, Castle Hill – A Cautionary Tale:

The traffic conditions surrounding St Gabriel’s School in Castle Hill, clearly illustrate what can be expected.
* Drop-off and pick-up at St Gabriel’s spans from 8:15am–9:00am and 2:00pm–3:30pm, generating substantial traffic. With staff arriving and exiting from 7:30am-8:30am and 3:30pm-4:30pm.
* Located on a four-lane arterial road (Old Northern Road), the school still causes daily congestion and frequent traffic accidents.
* Queues regularly stretch 500 metres or more, despite the presence of a 100-metre internal access road for vehicle stacking.
* St Gabriel’s employs over 100 staff for a 200 student facility, suggesting the Diocese’s current staffing estimates for Eileen O’Connor are either negligently inaccurate or deliberately misleading.

If a purpose-built access road on a major thoroughfare cannot prevent traffic chaos at St Gabriel’s, it is completely unacceptable to channel similar traffic through Keefers Glen, a far smaller, residential-only street with no capacity for such use with serious implications in the surrounding roads.

4. Gavenlock Road: The Only Suitable Access Point

The Gavenlock Road entry to St Peter’s Catholic College, which already borders the propose school site, is:
* Wider and better suited to high vehicle volumes,
* Connected to main arterial roads such as the Pacific Highway, Wyong Road and the M1,
* Located in a mixed-use zone, away from residential housing.

Gavenlock Road offers a safer, lower-impact alternative that aligns with smart urban planning, traffic engineering, and community wellbeing. If traffic safety and minimal community disruption are priorities, then Gavenlock Road must be the designated access point.

5. Concerns Regarding Educational Model:

While this submission primarily opposes the use of Keefers Glen as an access route, I also feel it is necessary to raise community concern regarding the suitability of the school model itself.

Contemporary educational research increasingly supports the inclusion of students with disability in mainstream school settings, through the use of specialised support units or inclusive education programs, rather than in segregated special schools.

Evidence from organisations such as the Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education (ACIE) and reports commissioned by the Australian Human Rights Commission consistently show that:
• Inclusive settings produce better academic, social, and emotional outcomes for students with disabilities,
• Students in inclusive classrooms benefit from peer interaction, shared resources, and broader community integration,
• Segregated environments can reinforce social isolation and stigma, even when intentions are well-meaning.

Building a standalone special school—particularly one operated by a private religious body—may not reflect best practice in 21st-century inclusive education. The significant investment in this model could arguably be better allocated toward integrating support units within existing schools, improving both outcomes and equity.

6. Requested Actions

I respectfully request that:
1. The use of Keefers Glen as a school access road be completely abandoned and removed from consideration.
2. The planning process formally rule out any traffic redirection or road changes to Keefers Glen or neighbouring streets.
3. A revised access plan be submitted that utilises Gavenlock Road as the primary and only access point.
4. A full and independently conducted Traffic Impact Assessment be undertaken, comparing these two options, with transparent community consultation.

Keefers Glen is not and will never be a suitable road for school access — not with its current configuration, and not with any proposed modifications. It is irresponsible and unsafe to introduce high-volume, daily school traffic to this street. The experience at St Gabriel’s proves this will lead to congestion, danger, and lasting community harm.

The proposal must be abandoned completely and replaced with an access plan via Gavenlock Road, which is clearly the only viable and responsible option.

Thank you for your time and serious consideration of this objection.

We are retired and home
Our concerns are as follows;
The noise of construction
The traffic the construction on will create, parking access for these people while it's being created
The road access is poor, even if you widen the road Keefers Glen access is through two cultersac's via wagners and Brickendon, this will create conjestion throughout all of cobbs vilage and have a flow on impact around the whole community
Noises the busses will make and congestion if the school goes a head
The loss of privacy and our property valuation will be impacted, we know because we saught advice
Huge saftey concerns around how much traffic this will create.
People will be able to see into my house from class rooms, whish I am highly disturbed about
The loss of habitat behind our house
The noise from the school, the drivway being behind our homes and play area
The fact that council said no and the school wants to push a head regradless
We don't want the school being built, let along the access
There are trees there that have been there for YEARS and that will distub the white ants there, which will look for a home elsewhere and make their way into our homes, the loss of the native birds
We have pets and they will be disturbed by the noise and impact the school will have
We are strongly objecting to this school in any capacity being built in that area.

Traffic and parking issue and safety
Noise and disturbance of school and construction
Loss of privacy
Loss of environment
Safety of construction vechiles and busses
Operational noise of school, bells, children
We all have pets the noise will impact them
People driving on our property like they did before St Peters restricted access and cars on Keefers
Loss of property value
Council has already Said no to the application and you want to force it through knowing 99% of people dont want the school

I currently live on woodbury park drive. The amount of traffic that already uses this as a short cut is horrendous. I support the building of the school but I dont support the main entrance being into keefers glen. The roads aren't set up to handle the extra traffic, busses and not to mention the overflow of cars that wont be able to park in designated carpark. I along with many other residents do support the school but the entrance needs to be off gavenlock road and not onto keefers Glen.

I don't think this project will be a good idea for the residents of Keefers Glen, Brickendon Avenue and surrounding streets. Cobbs Village is not built to withstand the amount of traffic building a new school would bring. Cobbs Village is a quite estate that should be able to stay the way it is. If the traffic was directed to the front of the school via the front entrance then I don't really see an issue but if they were to make it dual entrance then it would impact the people and the roads that are already there. If I had known this was in the works then I would definitely not have purchased a house in this area as the traffic from the back fence was already bad enough and having another school there would make the traffic unbearable which is not what we expected when we bought in Mardi.
I hope you take my concerns into account as I feel they are valid as I pay my rates and I live close to the back school gates.

I object this project and provide a letter

As a resident of Mardi I object to the use of a minor narrow suburban street to be the main access point of the proposed school. The main access point must be from GavenLock Rd (or branch off existing Gavenlock Rd access into St Peters school).
Keefers Glen and it's feed-in roads off Woodbury Park Drive are not suitable for high traffic or large traffic (such as buses).
The local area is already suffering from significant congestion and inappropriate parking at school drop-off/pick-up times due to the pedestrian access into St Peters. The overtaxed local infrastructure cannot support a main entrance or additional traffic flows, particularly buses, as it is already at capacity. Please enforce Council recommendations that all vehicular access is via Gavenlock Rd.

The project addrsss is 84 Gavenlock Road Tuggerah but the school proposal is to access via Keefers Glen Cobbs Village which was beyond reasonable. Cobbs village and surrounding streets are designed for a small community of 160 residents, and Keefers Glen is a very quiet and narrow lane that cannot cope with the traffic & parking needs according to the proposal, also it will lead to significant impacts to local residents’ quality of life due to pollution from school buses, traffic from staffs and noise pollution. the school buildings are designed too close to the surrounding residential properties without proper consideration the impacts to the surrounding residents. I object to this project.

I object to the school land being subdivided and hence having the access onto Keefers Glen. Keefers Glenn is in a small strata village, designed for Cobbs village residents and visitors only. It was never assumed a subdivision and new special needs school would be built. It is a narrow, misshapen lane with 2 dog legs where only one vehicle can safely navigate in the lane itself and the passing vehicle must stop to give way. It has two more sharp dog legs onto Deloraine and Wagners. The residents struggle with this lane already. Particularly as school teachers and students park on the narrow nature strip and the new school will be at least 20 car parks short.
The area was not designed for such a large school , particularly with the transports needs of disabled students. No child is allowed walk to school and the majority live in other suburbs to the south. The garbage trucks have to often do 3 point turns on our roads.
The application led people to believe that the school was being built on 84 Gavenlock Rd Tuggerah, which comes off an industrial area and has a purpose built entry and road into the main school (St Peters) . There is no reason the school couldn’t be built on the same corner of land, but have its entrance at 84 Gavenlock Road. There is ample room for the existing internal road to continue to where the proposed car park is and the new school building could back onto Keefers instead of face it.
I believe the diocese wish to remove any burden of the new school from their students, parents and staff and place it all on Cobbs strata village for two reasons. One, so the new school has minimum impact on their environment and their students dont have to see severely disabled/high needs students disembarked from buses. This could be detrimental to the prestige of the college and may deter enrolments. The other most obvious reason is to save money. They are only laying a small section of bitumen and a token 30m? footpath that leads to no where. The rest of the lane is unfit for purpose yet they have not included any upgrades. To say the reason the entrance is on keefers is due to the students having pride in their own entrance is farcical. Im sure they’d have more pride and belonging, going through the entrance on Gavenlock with every other student, instead of being hidden away in a corner.
The road has an island where it joins Brickendon which trucks and buses would have to drive over to make the turn.
The burden, daily disruption and impact on the quality of life and the subsequent devaluation of homes in Cobbs village will be significant. Particularly in Keefers and Brickendon where the homes adjoining the new school sit much lower and will have people in a 3 storey building looking into their back yards and those below the bus pickup/drop off will have the passengers having full view of their yards. The filling in of the dam is very concerning as there’s already significant run off from the site.
The majority of residents appear to accept the school being built, however they don’t want the diocese to shift the burden to the community and a totally unsuitable road system, when it is perfectly feasible for the new school to have access off Gavenlock road