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State Significant Development

Determination

Loreto Normanhurst School Redevelopment (Concept Proposal and Stage 1)

Hornsby Shire

Current Status: Determination

Interact with the stages for their names

  1. SEARs
  2. Prepare EIS
  3. Exhibition
  4. Collate Submissions
  5. Response to Submissions
  6. Assessment
  7. Recommendation
  8. Determination

Concept Proposal for 10 building envelopes including increasing the student cap from 1150 to 2000 students with detailed consent sought for Stage 1 works for boarding accommodation, car parking, through site road and student cap to 1650 students

Attachments & Resources

Notice of Exhibition (1)

Request for SEARs (2)

SEARs (1)

EIS (51)

Response to Submissions (23)

Agency Advice (9)

Amendments (52)

Additional Information (15)

Recommendation (4)

Determination (4)

Approved Documents

Management Plans and Strategies (50)

Community Consultative Committees and Panels (3)

Notifications (2)

Other Documents (6)

Note: Only documents approved by the Department after November 2019 will be published above. Any documents approved before this time can be viewed on the Applicant's website.

Complaints

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Enforcements

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Inspections

18/05/2022

Note: Only enforcements and inspections undertaken by the Department from March 2020 will be shown above.

Submissions

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Showing 141 - 158 of 158 submissions
Raymond, Frank, Elfriede Maria Oslington
Object
Wahroonga , New South Wales
Message
Dear Ms Coomar,

My Husband and I wish to lodge a very strong objection in regards to the Loreto Normanhurst School Redevelopment Plans as they stand now. These plans, while of enormous benefit to the school, show a total lack of consideration and respect for the surrounding community, and the effects this development will have on lives and well- being.

Good planning should surely take into consideration the needs of all.

Our objection revolves purely around the increasing traffic problems, both during and post construction.

Mount Pleasant Avenue, (our street) is not an easy road to navigate. It curves. It dips. It rises. It is narrow. Cars park on both sides of the road. It serves private homes: an Aged Care and Retirement Facility: a Care Home for people with disabilities, and Loreto school.
It carries a lot of traffic, (including ambulances) to and from the Aged Care Facility. School traffic. Resident traffic. All the usual suburban vehicles, garbage trucks, tradies, delivery trucks, etc. For the past two days Loreto buses are using the road. (We have wonderful photos of the bus crossing double white lines to negotiate the entry into Mount Pleasant Ave). This road is not a through road. There is only one entry/exit, and that on to a busy Pennant Hills Road.
We suggest that Mount Pleasant Ave needs to be widened, and that traffic lights need to be installed before any construction begins.

Osborn Road, on the other side of the school, is a nightmare to navigate. The residents of that street already have a heavy burden, one which will become heavier during the construction phase, and then of course with the increased student body. Osborn Road also have an urgent need for their road to be widened before any construction commences.
Loreto has a great deal of land. Why cannot some land be sliced off to widen Osborn Road and provide an extra lane? Surely that would benefit school and residents.

To our mind Loreto has done little to help the local residents. In fact, Loreto have been very disingenuous with the traffic surveys they have conducted; i.e. during times when there were fewer students at school (perhaps on school camps), or times other than at peak periods.
The car parking within school grounds on current plans provide the bare minimum required and do not reflect the true need. It is useless to say that students will be encouraged to walk or ride bikes etc., and therefore fewer spaces are needed or to say that more students will be encouraged to catch the trains. The reality is that the littlies will still be driven to school and that the senior students will still drive to school unless forbidden by the school to do so.
The lack of school parking will push more parking back onto the streets.
And the problems go on.

Before passing these plans we ask that you consider the needs of not only Loreto, but also those of the surrounding community.
Our lives matter too.

Yours sincerely,
Elfriede and Raymond Oslington


Declaration – We have not made any political donations during the past two years - Raymond Frank Oslington. Elfriede Maria Oslington
Alex Robertson
Object
WAHROONGA , New South Wales
Message
Attach
Attachments
Heidi McCoy
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
I write to you to object to the proposal in the strongest possible terms.
Even at the current school size of 1,150 students, residents suffer unacceptable traffic chaos at drop-off and pick-up times, during school ceremonies, and during weekend sporting events. This traffic chaos impacts Osborn Road and its five feeder streets Currawong Avenue, Rivertop Close, Nepean Avenue, Wendy Avenue and Dunbar Close alike.
After reviewing the Loreto response to submissions, I noted the statements below[1] with greatest concern as they are completely unrealistic:
‘A provision has been made within the concept plan for a future carpark providing up to 200 spaces located at the P3A carpark.’ – ‘The Osborn Road/Pennant Hills Road/Normanhurst Road intersection is shown to perform at an acceptable level of service in the concept plan post development model.’
The key points of my objection are:
• More students = more car parks = more drop-offs / pickups = more traffic chaos – Approving 433 car spaces and replacing the current 60 space Osborn Road main car park with a 200-space car park is beyond comprehension. No through-road, green travel plan or other solution will fix the resulting traffic chaos.
• Increased queuing on Osborn Road and at traffic lights – The amended travel plans for school traffic, which include more queue spaces for drop-off and pick-up, are totally inadequate to cope with even a fraction of the proposed increase. Already today, traffic nightmares and long traffic queues on Osborn Road are a regular occurrence. In addition, queues regularly form on Pennant Hills Road (PHR) where left- and right-hand turning traffic approaching Loreto forms queues due to the frequency of the traffic lights which impacts on the PHR traffic flow.
• All school traffic, apart from Early Learning Centre traffic, to be funnelled into Osborn Road – Doing so will inevitably cause a massive logjam of traffic in Osborn Road, with cars either queuing to take the ‘through road’ or driving to the drop-off/ pick-up P3A carpark. There cannot possibly be any other outcome than traffic chaos despite the modelling and predictions. This is further compounded by the fact that according to NSW road rules legislation, right-hand turning traffic exiting from the P3A car park as well as from the slip road must give way to Osborn Road traffic.[2] Increasing pick-up and drop-off lanes will not alleviate this situation due to the increase in traffic movements generated by increased student intake.
• Even more traffic in Osborn Road due to closure of Pennant Hills Road (PHR) school gate – Even before the stage 1 development, more cars will enter/ exit Osborn Road as a result. This will lead to over 80% of current traffic coming into Osborn Road, which places pedestrians and especially the elderly and young children walking at risk.
• ‘Green Travel Plan’ is a complete fantasy – Whilst Loreto Normanhurst makes the ‘Green Travel Plan’ a key point to change travel behaviour, it is unenforceable. As such, a proportion of school parents, students and staff will continue to commute as they wish, which is most likely by car.
• Compromising emergency access – The queuing of traffic in Osborn Road by students and parents waiting to enter and exit P3A carpark could severely compromise emergency vehicle access in the event of bushfires or a medical emergency.
• Protection of remnant Blue Gum High Forest and wildlife – Osborn Road is narrow and cannot be widened due to protected remnant Blue Gum High Forest and wildlife.
In summary, I object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal as the increased traffic would make it even more untenable for residents of Osborn Road and its five feeder streets as well as Mt Pleasant Avenue both of which are cul-de-sac roads.

Declaration – I have not made a political donation in the last two years.

Yours sincerely,
Heidi and James McCoy
Lynette Howard
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
Unfortunately I cannot attach the file with our submission that I mistakenly sent to Ms Aditi Coomar, have a new computer.
However it is ridiculous to approve 433 car spaces and replace the 60 current Osborn Rd carpark with a 200 space carpark. It already takes ages to move out of our street onto Pennant Hills Rd, worse in peakhour. Cars are queued on Pennant Hills Rd turning right and left into Osborn Rd causing more chaos then queue up on Osborn Rd where children are everywhere. Emergency vehicles now have problems getting through to our streets and it will be worse than ever.
Attachments
Name Withheld
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
I have lived on xxxx Normanhurst for the Last xxx Years, the only access we have to get through to Pennant Hill's Road is through Osborn Rd. In that time my family and I are regularly held up often for extended periods of time due to the flow of traffic from Loretto Normanhurst. I believe that the proposed development will create an even worse bottle neck and more extended delays.

My elderly xxx resides with me and I worry that should she require medical assistance these delays could have significant consequences. I also would like to add that during the time I have lived here I have attempted to contact Loretto on a number of occasions when they have blocked access to Pennant Hills road. No one has ever bothered responding to my communications. It appears that they have little concern for the residents around them.

I strenuously object to this application.
Margaret and Lawrie Owens
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
attached
Attachments
Mic and Michele Stromquist
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
We are writing to you to object to the above proposal in the strongest possible terms.

Loreto Normanhurst is entitled to grow and develop its school. However, this development is very large and will have a significant impact on the local residents.

Our objection is based on the following concerns:
• Mount Pleasant Avenue is a dead-end street. It has no traffic lights and hence offers motorists no other alternative route to enter or exit the street. Accordingly, the current street traffic, which is already congested during school operating hours will be made much worse with the proposed Loreto development and associated traffic management plan.
• With a large new boarding house on the street, a tripling of the junior school facing our street, a new childcare centre on our street, a new staff carpark with courts built on top on our street, and most concerning, a new link road that results in all drop off and pick up traffic from Loreto exiting onto Mount Pleasant Ave. This will have a significant increase of traffic flow on the already congested street situation especially since there are no traffic lights at Mount Pleasant Ave.
• Currently, due to already limited parking some student, teachers and visitors when finding it hard to obtain a park often park across or partially across resident driveways. Loreto’s proposed development will increase traffic volume making this situation much worse on Mount Pleasant Ave.
• The intersection between Mount Pleasant Ave and Pennant Hills Rd is already problematic with restricted visibility of oncoming traffic due to current building structures adjacent to the intersection. The intersection simply will not cope with the increased traffic and will result in an increased risk of accidents especially for elderly drivers and inexperienced student drivers using the street.
• In the last XX years while living on XXXXXX we have witnessed many mirrors being damaged by the narrow street when cars are parking on both sides. Three weeks ago a teacher's car was badly damaged by a truck because there was insufficient room for it to pass safely due to cars parked on either side of the road. The proposed development and associated traffic movements will increase the risk of this situation.
• The proposed buildings are very large and out of keeping with the residential zoning of our street. Additionally, the development lacks consideration for neighbours living next to the school and I firmly believe this development will have a negative effect on our property values.

In summary, I object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal since the increased traffic volume poses an unacceptable risk to the school community and local residents of Mount Pleasant Avenue.

Declaration – I have not made a political donation in the last two years.

Yours sincerely,

Mic and Michele Stromquist
David Greenwood
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
I write to object to the above proposal due to its inadequate traffic plan severely impacting local residents.

Why should their development overshadow our homes and our families lives? Why is Loreto more important than our local community?

We live on XXXXXXX. The development includes an oversized new boarding house on our street, a tripling of the junior school facing our street, a new childcare centre on our street, a new staff carpark with courts built on top on our street, and most concerning, a new link road that results in all drop off and pick up traffic from Loreto exiting onto Mount Pleasant Avenue. This is an enormous cost for one street to bear!

There will be at least four more entrances and exits to be built on the street with cars and trucks using them in large numbers.

The proposed buildings are unsightly, too large and out of keeping with the residential zoning of our street.

We already experience problems with additional traffic on our road during school terms. This is either in the form of staff or students parking on both sides of the road tuning the road into a one-lane thoroughfare, or lines of traffic at drop off and pick up times trying to enter or exit Pennant Hills Road.

I have a xxxx-old who uses xxxxxxxx. Mount Pleasant Avenue is the only road he needs to cross to get to school at xxxxxx. He’s currently in xxxxx and by next year we would hope that he could walk to school xxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx. But Mount Pleasant Avenue is too unsafe for him to cross by himself and will only become more dangerous if Loreto is allowed to double its student intake. As it stands, we already feel a need for speed humps to slow the traffic which is increased as mentioned from Loreto during school terms; and traffic lights at the intersection with Pennant Hills Road to allow greater ease of turning both left and right.

My xxxx has almost been hit by a xxxxxxx walking home from school. I’ve also observed many P plate drivers unsure of driving along Mount Pleasant Avenue when leaving school and navigating through the one-lane road. Their driving inexperience makes them cautious and nervous drivers when there is so much traffic on either side of the road. When they join the queue of cars waiting to turn into Pennant Hills Road, they end up stopping close to or over the midline of the road (as do other drivers not on P plates) thus preventing oncoming traffic from passing. With cars parked near the corner of Pennant Hills Road, this makes it difficult and dangerous to turn into Mount Pleasant Avenue.

Add to this an already approved childcare centre directly opposite our driveway AND this development also proposes to bring all school traffic out right next to the childcare centre and our driveway on its new link road. Our road cannot cope with all this additional traffic!

Cutting the right turn onto Pennant Hills Road is not a viable alternative as it only suits Loreto to get their development through and does not benefit anyone living on Mount Pleasant Avenue. It simply creates more of a bottleneck on Normanhurst Road which already struggles with the school traffic for the public school. It simply adds extra time to our commute time and I’d like to understand why Loreto thinks it is fair to put that on residents so they can make more money?

Please remember that Mount Pleasant Avenue is a dead-end so all traffic that enters must exit. There is already a sizeable amount of traffic associated with Loreto and there is an aged care facility on the street. Additional traffic congestion places everyone’s lives in jeopardy should emergency vehicles be necessary, which is a heightened risk due to the aged care home.

Residents already find it hard to exit their homes with cars from Loreto parked right up to the driveways. Loreto doubling their numbers will make this much worse.

The intersection between MPA and PHR is problematic. A five foot high brick fence at the corner severely restricts visibility of oncoming traffic. PHR drops down for first 50m looking north from MPA makes visibility worse. The geometry of the intersection means drivers turning left from MPA face a little to the south and have to look back over their right shoulder at an acute angle to see oncoming traffic. The intersection between MPA and PHR will not cope with the increased traffic this development will result in. We fear a serious accident may eventuate.

Who will be made accountable for an almost certain death at this intersection with increased traffic – the school, the board, the planning department or contractors who did the inadequate traffic management plan? Because it is a certainty that it will occur in the future if the proposed development goes ahead with the current flawed traffic management plan. Is Loreto really ok with losing one of its own students just to expand so grossly?

The previous traffic management plan was not undertaken in good faith as students were on leave and some away for camp. This shows Loreto’s underhand tactics to commission a traffic report during a downturn to be sympathetic to its needs. This is no less than corrupt behaviour by a giant organisation that cares nothing for the little people. Where are their Christian values – it seems nowhere when money is to be made.

Loreto already has more students per square metre of land than other schools. To double it is ridiculous. Given they are creating more boarding options, it would be better building the boarding houses on another campus, or acquiring land to construct a new campus that is more sustainable for student housing and has less impact on residents.

How can Loreto justify removing 100 beautiful old tress in today’s environmentally aware society? Residential owners are not given approval lightly to remove any substantial trees, so why is it ok for Loreto to? They seem to think they are exempt from the same rules that apply to everyone else.

As the school plans to almost double their numbers, their traffic management plan and Green Plan are woefully inadequate.

In summary, I object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal. The increased traffic would make an already problematic traffic situation even more untenable for residents of Mount Pleasant Avenue and Osborne Road and its five feeder streets, all of which are cul-de-sac roads.
Kerrie and Allan Dalton
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
attached
Attachments
Ramkumar Narasimhan
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
I strongly object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal.
1. The proposal is way too big for the foreseeable future.
2. The proposal increases traffic hazards to the residents and other users of Mount Pleasant Avenue.
3. The proposal has proceeded based on flawed traffic study in the past which has been raised by MPA residents already.
4. The proposal inconveniences peace & tranquillity of a residential locality.
5. The expansion as a whole is of no significant benefit to local community and benefits only business interests of Loreto while severely inconveniencing local residents.
6. The increased traffic would make an already problematic traffic situation even more untenable for residents of Mount Pleasant Avenue, Osborne Road (and its five feeder streets), Normanhurst Rd, Denman Parade, Buckingham Ave and Malsbury Rd and other streets in the neighbourhood. This will impact on everyone.
Attachments
Lakshmi Ramkumar
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
As a resident of XXXXXXXX, Normanhurst I submit my objection to the proposed development at Loreto Normanhurst school. If the project is given a green signal, it will greatly impact our movement in and out of our street, also contribute to the noise pollution and cause safety concern for our children's movement on our street We are already disturbed by the terrible sports horn blown on every Saturday morning. If the school feels they do not have enough parking space, they can very well relocate it to any other convenient location. As a local resident of this area, I can confirm that this school does not serve our community but is a hindrance to our peaceful living.

Attached is my objection letter for the proposed development. Kindly consider our concerns and stop this development project.

Kind regards
Lakshmi
Attachments
Barbara Phimister
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
Please find attached submission
Attachments
Mark Westcott
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
Please see attached letter of objection to the project
Attachments
Kyrsten Greenwood
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
I write to you to object to the above proposal in the strongest possible terms.

Nobody denies Loreto a chance to grow and develop. But why is the development so big?

We live on Mount Pleasant Avenue. The development includes an oversized new boarding house on our street, a tripling of the junior school facing our street, a new childcare centre on our street, a new staff carpark with courts built on top on our street, and most concerning, a new link road that results in all drop off and pick up traffic from Loreto exiting onto Mount Pleasant Avenue. This is an enormous cost for one street to bear!

There will be at least four more entrances and exits to be built on the street with cars and trucks using them in large numbers.

The proposed buildings are unsightly, too large and out of keeping with the residential zoning of our street.

We already experience problems with additional traffic on our road during school terms. This is either in the form of staff or students parking on both sides of the road tuning the road into a one-lane thoroughfare, or lines of traffic at drop off and pick up times trying to enter or exit Pennant Hills Road.

I have a X year-old who uses a wheelchair for mobility. XXXXXX is the only road he needs to cross to get to school at XXXXX. He’s currently in Year X and by next year we would hope that he could walk to school by himself as most X year olds start to have this independence. But XXXXXX is too unsafe for him to cross by himself and will only become more dangerous if Loreto is allowed to double its student intake. As it stands, we already feel a need for speed humps to slow the traffic which is increased as mentioned from Loreto during school terms; and traffic lights at the intersection with Pennant Hills Road to allow greater ease of turning both left and right.

Add to this an already approved childcare centre directly opposite our driveway AND this development also proposes to bring all school traffic out right next to the childcare centre and our driveway on its new link road. Our road cannot cope with all this additional traffic!

Cutting the right turn onto Pennant Hills Road is not a viable alternative as it only suits Loreto to get their development through and does not benefit anyone living on Mount Pleasant Avenue. It simply creates more of a bottleneck on Normanhurst Road which already struggles with the school traffic for the public school. It simply adds extra time to our commute time and I’d like to understand why Loreto thinks it is fair to put that on residents so they can make more money?

Please remember that Mount Pleasant Avenue is a dead-end so all traffic that enters must exit. There is already a sizeable amount of traffic associated with Loreto and there is an aged care facility on the street. Additional traffic congestion places everyone’s lives in jeopardy should emergency vehicles be necessary, which is a heightened risk due to the aged care home.

Residents already find it hard to exit their homes with cars from Loreto parked right up to the driveways. Loreto doubling their numbers will make this much worse.

The intersection between MPA and PHR is problematic. A five foot high brick fence at the corner severely restricts visibility of oncoming traffic. PHR drops down for first 50m looking north from MPA makes visibility worse. The geometry of the intersection means drivers turning left from MPA face a little to the south and have to look back over their right shoulder at an acute angle to see oncoming traffic. The intersection between MPA and PHR will not cope with the increased traffic this development will result in. We fear a serious accident may eventuate.

As the school plans to almost double their numbers, their traffic management plan and Green Plan are woefully inadequate.

In summary, I object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal. The increased traffic would make an already problematic traffic situation even more untenable for residents of Mount Pleasant Avenue and Osborne Road and its five feeder streets, all of which are cul-de-sac roads.

Declaration – I have not made a political donation in the last two years.

Yours sincerely,
Kyrsten Greenwood
Amanda Westcott
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
Please see letter attached.
Attachments
Nicola Butler
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
Please find attached my submission objecting to SSD 8996, namely the proposal by Loreto Normanhurst to redevelop its premises, including increasing its student number cap by 75% to 2,000 and increasing onsite car parking to 433 spaces (including replacing the current 60 space Osborn Road main car park with a 200-space car park).
Attachments
Jacinta Khedair
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
My Family have been living in XXXXX since the XXXX & have continued to watch Loreto grow to the point of not being able to handle their current capacity of students which already cause major delays in & out of Osborn road, not to mention the high volume traffic that backs onto Pennant Hills road during morning drop offs, afternoon drop offs, Saturday Sports & any other event the school holds.

Loreto does not care about the residents of Osborn road so why should the residents further suffer from the school?
Attachments
Aamanda Lee
Object
NORMANHURST , New South Wales
Message
attached
Attachments

Pagination

Project Details

Application Number
SSD-8996
Assessment Type
State Significant Development
Development Type
Educational establishments
Local Government Areas
Hornsby Shire
Decision
Approved
Determination Date
Decider
IPC-N

Contact Planner

Name
Tahlia Alexander