Minarah College

They are doing a fantastic job

Please see attachments

There are a number of issues which I would like to raise as a strong objection to the proposed development.
After reviewing several of the documents submitted for a review, if find them incomplete, inaccurate, in some case false and misleading as well as contradictory in nature.
1. The engagement of the developers with the local community has been extremely limited, and not in line with the detail included in the Social Impact Statement. Speaking with the local community there is limited knowledge of the development and a lack of understanding of current status and potential impacts, therefore I strongly doubt that 945 flyers were delivered to residential dwellings and 8 commercial premises when I was asked for a copy from neighbours. There is also mention that 17 adjacent neighbours were invited to a dedicated online information session. I am one of those residents and I have questioned other residents who like adjacent to the property and no neighbours received these invitations therefore I am not surprised that no one attended. There were limited numbers attending the initial session, as the link provided did not work and another link was resent by email 1 minute prior to the session commencing.
2. All issues that I raised were not included in section 5.8. I raised issues which included the lack of engagement with the community, poor communication, making misleading statements around the amount of engagement, road conditions and safety concerns, an increase to traffic on a rural road with a 80klm speed limited increasing the potential for traffic accidents and more loss of life. I also raised issues around the drainage, storm water management and waste management none of which have been sufficiently addressed or in line with requirement for a development of this size.
3. The reports states in section 5.6 there are no safety issues, however there are no existing footpaths or cycle ways, and no plans for adding any to an already busy road. Being a rural area people walk along the edge of the road, walk their dogs and also ride their horses. I find it difficult to believe that this does not represent safety issues in a 80klm speed zone.
4. It is noted at 80%-90% of children will arrive at the school by private vehicle with one child per car, during arrival periods of one hour morning and afternoon, with a 15 min window of peak arrivals. For 80% of children being 1264 children to arrive through 1 dedicated entry point and 1 exit point onto Catherine Fields Road, with 30 kiss and drop parking spots, with no contingency for heavy traffic or accidents, this is a serious issue for the wellbeing of the children of the school, the local community and those people using Catherine Fields Road as a means of travelling between Campbelltown/Narellan area and Penrith. We have had fatalities on this road in past years and would severely impact the safety of anyone in the area.
5. 5.1 of the report states that the proposed education establishment is unlikely to generate significant impacts in terms of privacy, but then goes onto say that it is likely that noise will be generated through the construction period, which goes on for a number of years and well as the operation of the school, particularly when children are playing in outdoor areas, school bells and the PA system . The area is zoned a rural residential area with no allowance for a school previously noted. The only noise mitigant the report stated to this issue would be to face the PA systems away from surrounding houses, and no other issues were addressed.
6. The report states that they will be adding value by providing a hall and sports fields. Catherine Field already have a community hall and sports fields available for the community use.
7. The impact to health and wellbeing has not been addressed when there is 7 days per week access for the hall and sports field with lighting to 9pm and 10pm at night. Catherine Field is an aging community with the rural area being a lifestyle which enjoys the quiet that is cherished by the community. The census that was used in the report was from 2016, not 2021 and calls out that most children will be coming from outside the area, therefore the school is not a benefit to the local community and does not fit well with a rural lifestyle environment.
8. The conclusion of the report incorrectly states the wrong address for the development. Should someone seek to read the conclusion only they could be confused and believe that the school is located at 368-378, which would be false and misleading to the reader.
9. Review of the Preliminary Overland Flow Assessment does not deal satisfactorily deal with water run off. The report was done in September and November 2021, prior to the heavy flooding of roads and road closures that we have experienced in 2022. There is no plan to deal with excess water other than to have the water diverted to Catherine Fields Road, and then to run through the properties opposite the school. The preliminary report stated that proposed diversion pipes under the southern car park with a proposed pit and pipe system on Catherine Fields Road, including the upsized culvert crossing under the road to drain through the properties located opposite to the school. This is a terrible outcome for the properties opposite and could lead to flooding of houses, which has never occurred previously or in the 30 years I have lived on Catherine Fields Road, opposite to the proposed school development.
10, There are no clear plans for managing waste management at the school for ~1600 people. There is no sewerage in Catherine Field, and none proposed at this stage.
When development was proposed for Oran Park and Gregory Hills both the State Government and local council promised the residents that there would be infrastructure to support any further development proposals. There has been no improvement to the roads in Catherine Field since I have lived here in 30 years and nothing in the reports that addresses the infrastructure. There are no plans for providing footpaths, bike pathways, storm water run off or waste management for this development. The areas zoning remains rural residential with the lifestyle of the residents being severely impacted with a development of this size, whilst the surrounding properties are acreages.
I have attached a photo from 7th March this year of water running off the properties from the proposed development site. This is the amount of water that there are no plans within this proposal to manage.

1. The issue of traffic on a single lane rural road. Catherinefields road is a small single lane road that simply cannot handle the proposed traffic for the school. Catherinefield is a small rural town where elderly people go for walks and take their dogs for a walk. With the excessive traffic this won't be possible. Also comparing it to green valley campus is not correct. these are completely two different areas and cannot be compared for the purposes of traffic management.
2. There is not enough parking allocated for students and teachers. This would mean parking on the rural roads and lanes on the grass where there is no curb and gutters.
3. There is no provision for the sewer on catherinefields road. pump out system would create more traffic conditions. The storm water issues will be compounded. Just recently with the rainfall seen it would create more flooding across the roads and surrounding areas.

Dear Nahid,

My name is _____ and my family and I are relatively new residents of Catherine Field. We were attracted to the area because of the quiet and simple village style of living that this community offered.

I am writing to you in opposition of the proposed Minarah College in Catherine Field.

During the time that my family has lived in Catherine Field my husband and I have driven regularly on Catherine Fields Road. It is a clear fact that the existing rural road with a single lane in each direction, barely copes with the current road traffic. The quality of Catherine Fields Road is extremely poor and continually requires repairs by Camden Council. Furthermore, being a semi-rural area, Catherine Field does not have the provisions for pedestrians, with no guttering and footpaths.

Section 3.4.1 of The Transport & Accessibility Impact Assessment clearly states: Currently, there are no provisions for footpaths along the Catherine Fields Road frontage in the northern or southern directions. As part of Councils’ Pedestrian Access and Mobility Plan (2014), there is no anticipated footpath works planned for the Catherine Field area.

This does not meet the Infrastructure Requirements and Utilities outlined Environmental Assessment Requirements “identify any infrastructure upgrades required on-site & off-site to facilitate the development & any arrangements to ensure that the upgrades will be implemented on time and be maintained”.

In summary, based on the information provided, I oppose the building of this school. I believe that approving the proposal of any school on Catherine Fields Road, would impact negatively on the current roads and residents of Catherine Field.

Thank you,

(Name redacted)

I lived in Catherine Field for 25 years. I still have family in the area and visit them often. When driving on the roads I notice that they are in very poor condition and seem narrow when passing trucks. When reading the reports, I did see that Camden Council marked the concern over the ‘narrow rural road’. I didn’t however see any mention of the proponent addressing this concern other than the road immediately to the front of 268 and 278 Catherine Field road. Page 52 of the Environmental Impact Statement ‘consultation has been undertaken with the TfNSW during the preparation of the EIS to ensure adequate consideration of potential issues affecting public roads within and surrounding the site’.

At 6.7 the traffic and transport impact assessment only considers impact during the construction of the school. It states that traffic will increase from 157 cars to 783 however it does not address the surrounding roads and how this will impact Catherine fields road, Deepfeilds road or Springfield road (for example). I see this as a significant issue for the local residents.

After reading the environmental. Noise impact assessment, page 12 sets out that the calculations also show that, noise emissions from students in the outdoor areas during active play will exceed the acoustic requirements in Camden councils environmental noise policy 2018 causing a marginal increase to the existing ambient noise levels at adjacent developments and the local neighbourhood.

I understand as per page 14 at 4.1.1 measured ambient noise levels notes that a “ noise logger was placed location A (circa 25meters to the north) on Wednesday 25 August 2021.
During an inspection on 2 September 2022 to replace the batteries, it was discovered the noise logger had been removed by a third party - at the time of writing this report, the noise logger and associated data have not been recovered.” Therefore i believe the report is false and misleading and does not adhere to the correct testing without real data available on the impacts the school will make.

Noting the above, I do not agree with minarah college being built in Catherine fields and object to the reports and documents put forward.

I am writing to strongly oppose the project of the proposed Minarah College in Catherine Field. As a local Gledswood Hills resident I frequent Catherine Field and regularly utilise the roads in the area. The current roads and infrastructure does not support a new college of this size within the region.

This is a rural setting with narrow roadways that are already under pressure and not maintained. There are no gutters to support the roads which are in a constant state of disrepair with soft edges and pot holes.

The impact of the proposed influx of new traffic from a school of this size will only attribute to further negative impact to the roads and safety of locals and school children.

There are no pedestrian or bicycle path ways nor are there any future plans for them to be installed. It will not be safe for local residents to access the school on foot or by way of cycling.

3.4.1 of The Transport & Accessibilty Impact Assessment clearly states: Currently there are no provisions for footpaths along the Catherine Fields road. Also: There is no anticipated footpath works planned for the Catherine Field area.
This does not meet the Infrastructure Requirements and Utilities outlined Environmental Assessment Requirements “identify any infrastructure upgrades required on-site & off-site to facilitate the development & any arrangements to ensure that the upgrades will be implemented on time and be maintained

I strongly support the proposition for a new school in Catherine Field not only it will create and promote a huge economic growth but more importantly it will meet the current and near future demand for K- 12 education as the projected population growth is to expand rapidly in the school catchment area.

I live close to the proposed school on catherine field rd and am extremely concerned about the amount of traffic that will accumulate especially during peak hrs. I'm concerned about the condition of the roads and how the traffic will be handled. It would be impossible to enter onto catherine field road during these times. I'm also concerned about the safety my children catch the bus to school and have to cross catherine field road increased traffic will make it very difficult for them to cross the road safely. I don't think this is a suitable spot to have a college of this size amoungest rural undeveloped roads that are already congested now deepfields road is no longer able to turn right onto. Camden valley way more cars pass catherine field rd and its barely coping. No guttering excessive pot holes

Minarah Campus Students in Catherine Fields will have access to the latest technology, STEAM and VET
opportunities – and all will be encouraged to reach their potential. No one will be left behind. The school will provide ongoing jobs for teachers and for tradesman during construction period.

Me and my wife object to this project. Our daughter and son in law together with their 3 kids live across the road. We live overseas but we visited a couple of years ago for 3 months. We love the area and believe that a school is not suitable for that area. We saw first hand the state of the road especially after a good rainfall. The area is rural and so quiet. We loved it. It was a great escape from the hustle and bustle of a city. We feel it would ruin that rural feel by introducing a school. Our daughter has told us of the stress this project has caused all of them including their kids. We hope you kindly consider all of this before making a decision.
Regards
Joseph and Thaddea Buttigieg

This project is beneficial for the muslim community within the Greater South West Region of Sydney as the population of Muslims within that region is growing at a large rate compared to anywhere else in NSW. Given the location it will provide ample amount of amenities for pupils and also be engaging for the local community to be apart of the school is well. Given their success in the suburb of Green Valley where they already filled their full threshold of students, it will also be a great resource of having this additional campus set. I have knowledge of people that have had their children attend the inception campus where they were highly satisfied with the quality of education that was provided by the education facility. They have also a track record of achieving excellent NAPLAN results in the year 2020. Also with their interaction within the greater community it is not only a school limited to islamic values but incorporating the Australian values of traditions and norms that are carried on as a legacy such as ANZAC day and participating in Cancer day council teas. Also the equality for women within the workforce is also an imperative approach where the school is providing the opportunity for its female students to thrive to break the gender social norms which had preconceived beliefs.

The new school would be a positive addition to Catherine Field and the broader Western Sydney community, where Islamic faith-based schools are in high demand.

I support the new campus because
The new school would be a positive addition to Catherine Field and the broader Western Sydney community where Islamic faith-based schools are in high demand.
Western Sydney families deserve to have convenient access to quality education and the proposed Campus would help meet this need.

I am writing to strongly oppose the proposed Minarah College on Catherine Field road. Living so close to the site, I have concerns over the poor conditions of the roads that are constantly being patched by council nor is there any projected major upgrades planned for our road. During heavy rains, council have warned residents about driving on these roads and have also closed the access to the road completely. I have attached evidence of this attached with a history of Camden Council's facebook posts. I have uploaded photos and a brief video that I have taken in heavy rainfall that shows the severity of our roads and how unsafe it is to drive on in bad weather.

I also have concerns that the proposal drafts upgrades to the road only along the vicinity of the school site. I am curious to know if this has been approved by Camden Council given that the road actually belongs to Camden Council.

The proposal also notes that there will be spaces for bicycle parking. Catherine Field road nor any surrounding roads are safe for bicycles nor a pedestrian. There are no footpaths and it is not safe to walk on the nature strip due to open culverts that are quite often filled with water. There is no future planning from Camden Council to ever install footpaths or safe access to the school so this point is not valid.

I have concerns about the proposed operating hours. Catherine Field is a quiet rural/ semi rural community and believe that the operating hours of the Multi Purpose Hall up to 10pm on Saturday and Sunday AND the use of the sports field up until 9pm 7 days a week will disrupt our rural lifestyle. There is no sunlight at 7-9pm and I don't see any where in the proposal what kind of lighting or sound will be utilised during these times.

Page 82 of the EIS regarding Public Transport claims that Leppington train station is 5km from the site. This is incorrect, Leppington station is 9.9km from the proposed site. The document also claims that Minto train station is 8km from the proposed site. This data is incorrect. Minto train station is actually 13km from the proposed school site. Therefore, the data n this report is inaccurate. I have included evidence of this in my attachments.

Once again, I am strongly opposed to Minarah College and believe that Catherine Field is not a suitable location for a development of this capacity.

Having dealt with the Islamic faith on numerous occasions and knowing several Islamic people who unfortunately have very different beliefs and views than a vast majority of us I feel strongly against this project.
Racism is not a factor as I am of a non Australian background myself but it will not be a good fit for the fabric of the Camden community which is already at breaking point with the overdevelopment of Oran park,Leppington and spring farm etc.
There is a mosque nearing completion on Camden valley way which already causes traffic issues and the school will simply add to the traffic and parking issues in a once peaceful rural community.
As a ratepayer and tax payer i along with many others feel that there are many more important projects and or facilities suitable for this area rather than a school accommodating 1200 more students of a different faith and belief to the people that already live here.
We moved to Camden recently to get away from the crowding and overdevelopment of western Sydney and unfortunately parts of Camden are now
becoming reminiscent of these ghetto type suburbs.
Kind regards
(name -redacted)

I am attaching my letter to object to the project together with photos taken on the 2/7/22 after a few hours of rain to show the extent of the floodwater.
Regards
Francine Axisa

I object to this proposal. I have no idea why this site was even considered for a school when there is absolutely no infrastructure that is suitable for it. There are plenty more newer areas that are suitable.
I have lived in Catherine Field for my whole life with my parents who were one of the first houses to be built here. My dream was always to buy a bit of land in this area and raise my family. I finally achieved this lifelong dream. This area has always been quiet. I feel that this will not be the case with a school built across the road from me. How are we supposed to get out of our properties safely with the increase in traffic? The hours of operation till 10pm at night is frankly not acceptable. We have sporting fields and a community hall just up the road. I do not think another hall and sporting field is needed. Stormwater drainage is non existent. Just look at the situation on the road now after all the rain we had. At the proposed site, cars are driving on the opposite side of the road to avoid the water and the resulting potholes from water saturation. I have also attached 2 photos taken on the 2/07/22 showing this situation. These photos was taken after a few hours of heavy rain.
Regards
Jamie Axisa

See attachment

My husband and I built a house here in Catherine Field in 2019 and moved out family here. It is a beautiful quite rural suburb which is why we moved here. If this College is built it will create lots of traffic down and around Catherine Field Rd hence would make it more suburbia and no longer rural. Then it wouldn't take long before the high density building would begin.
PLEASE LEAVE OUR BEAUTIFUL CATHERINR FIELD ALONE.
Kind Regards
The Micallef Family