I am writing in relation to the proposed New Eileen O’Connor School under Application number SSD-67173718.
My overall position is that this development has the potential to be a net positive for the area, however I believe the application in it’s current state is disingenuous at best, with outright misdirection appearing to be a key element of the proposal.
First and foremost, the site address is listed at 84 Gavenlock Road, Mardi while the actual entrance for the building will be located 3km away by road on Keefers Glen, Mardi. For those who are not aware, Keefers Glen is a small residential street that struggles to allow flow of local traffic during peak hours, which will overlap with the primary use times of the proposed school. In addition to lacking the space for local traffic, Keefers Glen also has minimal off street parking which is insufficient for residents and guests in current state. Keefers Glen and surrounding streets do not have the capacity to be the entrance for a 200 student school.
Another element that has not been considered in the proposal is that due to the nature of the school, the majority of the 200 students will not be arriving via public transport or walking, they will require a responsible adult to pick up and drop off every day. The streets around Keefers Glen already bottleneck without the additional traffic required to support the safety of the students.
Further to this, the development proposal has not provided enough on-site parking for staff members. Approximately 20% of staff will be forced into off street parking on a daily basis, in an area which does not have sufficient parking for residents.
The final point I would like to raise is that Central Coast Council disagrees with the proposal to have the entrance via Keefers Glen due to the same issues I have mentioned above.
I believe this application in it’s current form should not go ahead.
Regards,
Brock Laurenson

This project is a very worthwhile project, but I would like to suggest that the multistorey part of the building be moved to another part of the structure, so it is not overlooking, and overshadowing, homes that are on the adjacent fence line in Brickendon Ave. There appears to be several other parts of this building that the multistorey section could be accommodated more suitably, which would not impact the already established homes in this area.

I am writing to object to this project due to the below.
I believe this will have a detrimental affect to the community that lives in Keefers Glen, Deloraine Cr, and Brickendon Avenue. The traffic around this area at school times is already a nightmare with cars parked either side of Keefers Glen. Not to mention the environmental impact this will have with the increased emissions from diesel buses and more cars driving into the new entrance to the school off of Keefers Glen. How anyone would want to continue living here with that amount of pollution in a residential area (and I am one of them) I don't know!! The disruption to existing wildlife that live in these grounds at the moment would be awful, numerous animals would be displaced.
The eyesore of a 3 story building right in our backyards is also of great concern. 3 stories is way too high, giving a gloomy outlook from our houses both in Keefers Glen and Brickendon Ave.
The obvious solution to me would be to construct the school at the front of the existing school which has a main entrance off Gavenlock Road. There is ample land available to construct this school and as it would then border the industrial area, the environmental impact would be far less serious. If the existing school needs playing fields, there is a sporting complex less than five minutes away. However there is plenty of land at the front of the school to provide space for the school and playing fields. This would allow for buses and extra cars to enter via Gavenlock, students would also be accommodated for in a school that could be built to their requirements without impacting on existing 'residential' areas that house many elderly and families with small children whose safety would be at risk from all the extra traffic.
I do believe that not enough consideration has been taken into account of the impact this development will have, the year or two of construction with trucks/diggers and the like entering the area causing traffic delays as well as noise nuisance and environmental disruption.
Please reconsider this development and not allow such a monstrosity in such a well established residential area that will impact so many.

Hello,
I live within Mardi NSW and close to where this school will be placed. I can understand and appreciate the need of an education facility like this, and I am in support of it. However, I do not believe that access to this school let alone the current school should be allowed through Mardi / Woodbury Park Drive. Mardi is a relatively densely populated suburb, with existing traffic issues. Many people have brought in this area due to the relatively quite nature (minus the traffic). The streets are narrow and to be honest, 50/KH limits in the streets in Mardi is borderline too fast. Constant speeding cars from people using it as a cut through off the freeway and the industrial area have made traffic issues somewhat dangerous at peak AM and PM times (school times).

In appendix R, it appears that traffic impacts have not been fully assessed. The local council has objected to the use of Mardi for access and I support their objections. Access should be via existing Gavenlock road entry. Gavenlock Road is a wide road in an industrial area with the other supporting infrastructure in place to support the traffic of the existing school. Perhaps St. Peters can give up some of their unused land on their northern side to create a separate driveway / entry and exit for the special needs school - that seems like the most practical, compassionate and understanding way forward and I am amazed it was not on the plans.

Mardi cannot handle the construction vehicles, crews or ongoing additional traffic from the new school and it is sub optimal to assume that 'upgrading the surrounding roads and intersection's' is enough for the small area of Mardi. People will be very negatively impacted by this current proposal - please re consider using Gavenlock Road as the council suggested - the overall need for this special needs school is immeasurable, and the areas at St. Peters is perfect, but please, do it right.

In order to do this widening of keefners glen should be considered as this rd is quite hard to navigate when busy and will only get harder with a new school.

It is much needed but the main entrance should NOT be situated on Keefers Glen and rafter relocated to another spot on Gavenlock Road. The current plans will cause heavy congestion, which could potentially bottle neck onto the smaller streets in Woodbury park, leading to major traffic disruption. It will also lead to the devaluation of houses on the street, as people do not want to buy a house on a busy street.

Gavenlock driveway Safer entry for those in the support unit, rather than being on what will become a busy, gridlocked residential road. Perfect opportunity to fix traffic issues on Gavenlock school drop off, by creating an additional driveway for parents

I support the proposed school but I do NOT support the entry/exit on Keefers Glen. Keefers Glen is already full of cars at school morning/afternoon drop offs and pick ups. The streets in this area are way too small to accommodate more traffic from the new school. The entry/exit for the school should be on Gavenlock.

We are from a neighbouring property and for the following reasons we do not support the development of the new school as currently proposed.
-Heavy congestion which will bottle neck throughout the smaller streets and onto two ends of Woodbury park drive
- devaluing house property as people will not want to buy on a busy street or neighbourhood
- Removal of resident & visitor parking on Keefers Glen (there is zero benefit to residents on this street)
- Promoting a dangerous through-street on what is supposed to be a safe area for children
- Sending all storm water to keefers Glen, which is already overrun during heavy rain
- No need to impact residents at all, safe alternate road can be built from Gavenlock Rd entrance
- Proposal talks about how the school will ‘look good’ to the support class kids. They don’t care about curb - appeal, they just want to be included & walk through the same front door as every other child (on Gavenlock)
- Perfect opportunity to fix traffic issues on Gavenlock school drop off, by creating an additional driveway for parents
- Gavenlock driveway Safer entry for those in the support unit, rather than being on what will become a busy, gridlocked residential road
- Safety & privacy being taken away from Mardi community by a huge developer driven project. There is no ‘community’ project here.
- Mardi residents shouldering multiple losses while big developer offers no compensation or empathy
- It is not hard for them to change design for entrance via Gavenlock, Infact it is something that has already been considered, but developer is pushing for what they think ‘looks good’, instead of thinking about the impacts of an entire community

- 100% of students will require assisted travel or private vehicle from kindergarten through to year 12.
It makes more sense to facilitate this from the Gavenlock Rd end, causing zero trouble to the neighbouring community

-While the developer is concerned about the roadside appeal, those home owners surrounding the area are more concerned about our loss of property value, loss of privacy, safety concern, traffic concern, access concerns & the further increase of people speeding through the area as a short cut.

We can still support the school being built itself, it is just clearly nonsensical to Interrupt a community for an extended period of time, and devalue properties or a suburb, because the developer thinks it will look prettier to have a main entrance in the back streets instead of via the actual main gate.

This doesn’t just affect those on Keefers Glen. It affects the suburb as a whole.

I am a local resident and I support the construction and operation of a new special education school catering for 200 students in Years K-12. I believe there needs to be amendments before the project is approved. These include:
* Removing access to and from the site from the small local back streets - Keefers Glen, Brickendon Avenue, Wagners Place and Deloraine Glen. These roads are too small and congested by residential traffic and would not cope safely with the additional traffic generated by the school. Woodbury Park Drive is already very busy and there are often near misses where Brickendon Avenue and Wagners Place meet it.
* The new school should be accessed from a new or extended driveway from Gavenlock Road through the St Peters site.
* Gavenlock Road should be upgraded with additional turning lanes and possibly a roundabout outside the St Peters entry to handle the additional traffic generated by the school.
* The new school is proposing to have 71 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, but the site will only have parking for 60 cars plus 5 kiss and ride/visitor parking. Additional parking spaces are needed for staff/visitors so they do not park on the already clogged streets surrounding the school.
* St Peters should also include additional parking for senior students so they also don't park on surrounding streets.
Thank you for your consideration.