I am really concerned that the car park exhaust system is very close to the school. I don't want my children being exposed to carbon monoxide! I am concerned that the kids will have to suffer through 2 years of construction noise. How are they supposed to concentrate enough through that level of disruption and learn anything?? I am concerned that the developer lied in a meeting at the school when he said he had 12 'blokes' watering down the mounds and mounds of dirt on the site. Evidence was provided to me from a fellow parent that he lied about this. The dirt was not covered up and it was completely dry. The dust blowing into the school grounds is unacceptable. My 5 year old son has developed a nasty cough, and when I wrote to Sydney University (Greg Robinson) he told me it was due to 'Back Burning'??? A level of accountability is needed for this site to progress with minimal disruption to the children and teachers at the school. If what has happened so far is any indication of how they think their 'Management' of this site is acceptable, then they should not be allowed to proceed. I object!

I'm extremely concerned about the impact of dust and lead pollution from the building site on the health of my children, and having experienced the noise and vibration from the site I am also concerned about the impact on my children's learning at school.

The University of Sydney is worried about setting a precedent in ensuring the building does to impact on the health of the community and particularly Darlington Public School both in regards to their health and an adequate learning environment.

I object to the addition add of an extra level to the top of the building and immediately adjacent to the school. This additional level will increase overshadowing, bulk and scale to the school. I object under these terms - overshadowing, bulk and scale.

My cursory appraisal suggests there will be an additional shadow thrown of approximately 11.0m at 9am in winter beyond the shadow already approved in the original scheme. Not a great outcome for the school and of great concern that we were not consulted by Sydney University on this prior to submission of the modifications.

Given the absence of any consultation on these modifications I request the application be withdrawn and a proper consultation commenced. As a minimum the school needs to see a series of shadow diagrams for Winter and summer solstice and the equinox at 8am, 9am, 10am, 12pm and 3pm.

I also object to the proposal on the grounds of unacceptable noise and dust pollution generated by construction process. The standards, recording, control and reporting methods are opaque and fail to address fundamental health and wellbeing interests of the school.

MP 07_0158 MOD 2 - Abercrombie Street Precinct
To Whom It May Concern
I am writing as a parent of a child that attends Darlington Public School to object to the
proposed development by the University of Sydney, MP 07_0158 MOD 2 - Abercrombie
Street Precinct, Syd Uni. The school is directly adjacent to the western border of the project.
I have major concerns that relate to the impact of the development on Darlington Public
School. Significant issues were raised in earlier consultation in relation to the noise impacts
of the project's demolition and construction phase on the Darlington Public School.
The University has failed to consider the potential impacts of the construction's noise, dust
and vibration on the operation of the school and the safety and wellbeing of the children.
In the period following the Planning Assessment Committee determination, consultation with
Darlington Public School community did not occur until 6 August 2013, which was after work
on the site had started.
Noise, dust and contaminant levels have already been shown to be above the limits set for
the development through the approval process. The standards that the development is
required to meet, prior to and during construction, are not adequate for a development
located beside a primary school. Higher standards need to be set to ensure the children
are protected from the impact of noise, dust and contaminants, as they will be in
close proximity to the development over a long period of time.
Children aged between 3 years old to 12 years old will be subject to high levels of dust,
contaminants and noise for long days - potentially from 8.30 am to 6 pm - for a period in
excess of 18 months (Business School) and longer with a subsequent development on site
(Student accommodation).
The School faces the development site, it is designed with louvre windows to capture air and
light, windows and doors are not allowed to be closed throughout the year - this is because
classrooms need ventilation from open windows and doors to stop classrooms from getting
too hot and in winter due to the un-flued gas heaters - the windows and doors need to be
open to prevent dangerous fumes building up.
At the very minimum air conditioning and glazing is required to be installed in
classrooms to mitigate the impact of construction on the operation of the school and
safety of the children.
The monitoring of noise and dust is inadequate, for example it is already showing high levels
of lead dust, but it does not record the accumulated lead dust that is being dumped on the
playground and school desks over a period of time. Complaints were raised during the last
DA process about the way the baseline for the noise monitoring was set for the street
outside the school and not on the school grounds (on the development side). The noise
monitoring cannot accurately measure the impact on the School. An independent
assessment needs to determine the appropriate standards and monitoring for this
development being done this close to this School.
The lack of consideration for the health of the school children is demonstrated in the
University locating the car park exhaust and ventilation system within 9 metres of the
kindergarten classroom and playground. The car park exhaust and ventilation system
needs to be moved as far away from the children as possible - this is an unacceptable
risk for small children and designed to minimise any impact on them.
Darlington School playground contains asbestos and this has been covered and managed
by the Department with asphalt and woodchips. The excavation of the driveway will cut past
this area within 2 metres. The excavation and work adjacent to the playground needs to
be done during school holidays and have a specific management plan for that area
that manages the asbestos risk during the excavation and any subsequent clean-up
to ensure the safety of the children.
The following five conditions need to be met before the development can continue:
1. Higher standards need to be set to ensure the children are protected from the
impact of noise, dust and contaminants, as they will be in close proximity to
the development over a long period of time.
2. At the very minimum, air conditioning and glazing is required to be installed in
classrooms to mitigate the impact of construction on the operation of the
school and safety of the children.
3. An independent assessment needs to determine the appropriate standards and
monitoring for this development being done this close to this School.
4. The car park exhaust and ventilation system needs to be moved as far away
from the children as possible and designed to minimise any impact on them.
5. The excavation and work adjacent to the playground needs to be done during
school holidays and have a specific management plan for that area that
manages the asbestos risk during the excavation and any subsequent clean-up
to ensure the safety of the children.