New High School in Bungendore

Alan and Beth Hutchinson
Street Address Withheld
WAMBOIN
NSW 2620

We have been residents of Wamboin for the past thirty years, and have enjoyed the use of the Bungendore Park immeasurably during that period. We often sit and have a coffee there, and enjoy its ambience. We also take our dog to the park and walk him on a leash around the perimeter of the park. It is a very pleasant spot, and is enjoyed, not only by the local residents, but also by the many tourists who pass through Bungendore on their way to and from the South Coast. It is also used by the nearby residents of Bywong .
It should be noted that we are not objecting to the construction of a high school for Bungendore. What we object to is its planned location.
We strongly object to the NSW Government Planning Industry and Environment Exhibition of State Significant Development SSD - 14394209 New High School in Bungendore for the following reasons:

1. We have it on good authority that the Bungendore Park and the adjoining common, which includes Turallo Terrace, is Crown Land that is specifically for public use and recreation. The area is bounded by a railway line and a number of local roads. The projected school will contain, inter alia, the construction of three double storey school buildings, as well as a new community building, which will be totally out of character with the rest of Bungendore. The proposed new school will cater for some 450 pupils. I understand that the new school will not have room for growth. And within a few years, there will be a requirement for additional (demountable) buildings which will inevitably lead to further expansion on to the Mick Sherd Oval. The park and the common will cease being a place for use by the general community, and recreation. Bungendore does not have any other centrally located open spaces to lose, and we think that it is appalling that the proposed new school will have such a negative impact on the village.
2. The following changes will also have a huge negative impact on the life of the village:
a. The demolition of the Bungendore Community Centre;
b. The demolition of the Bungendore Pool, particularly as we understand that the QPRC does not have funds allocated for a replacement pool;
c. The demolition of the Majara Street road infrastructure; the restrictions placed on the use of Mick Sherd Oval during school hours (7.30 am to 6pm).
d. The proposed 2.1 metre fencing around the school buildings;
e. The War Memorial, built over 100 years ago, which is visited by many tourists regularly, and by large crowds on ANZAC Day, will simply be overwhelmed, and suffer because of limited access and parking problems;
f. The destruction of 73 mature trees will be, in our opinion, inexcusable; and
g. The removal of the Rotunda and the bush balladeers stone memorial.
3. We understand that alternative sites to the east of Bungendore were offered, but dismissed out of hand, as were other sites, for vague reasons.
4. It is probably a mere coincidence, but the impending resignations of the local member, and the Mayor of the QPRC have raised some eyebrows locally. This is probably totally unjustified, but the locals are very unhappy. The whole process, whilst no doubt fulfilling the mandated procedures laid down by the NSW Government, raises some important questions about the lack of consultation with local residents, and the ignoring of advice by local experts, particularly in regard to matters of fact. It seems to us that the QPRC has already made its mind up about the location of the new high school, and does not wish to be confused by awkward questions.
5. It is our opinion that if the proposal goes ahead, to locate the new high school where it is shown in the Development Application, it will destroy the heart and soul of Bungendore Village, which will never be recaptured. So much for listening to local residents about a most unpopular proposal.
6. We have no affiliation with any political party, local, state or federal, nor have we ever made a donation to any political party. They seem to do a pretty good job of raising funds on their own.

See attached.

The style of the proposed buildings is not in keeping with surrounding architecture i.e. the railway station, the school, the police station, the post office.
There appears to be no specific student carparking allocated.
Blocking off Majara St will cause significant increase to traffic flow to otherwise quiet residential streets.

I object to the proposal to locate the new high school on Bungendore Park because this will destroy an important local amenity and much of the character of Bungendore as a rural village.
While I support establishing a high school in Bungendore I am sure that a more suitable site could be found.

Chareen Callander
Street Address Withheld
Wamboin NSW 2620

11 October 2021

Director - Social and Infrastructure Assessments
Planning and Assessment
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Locked Bag 5022
Parramatta NSW 2124

Dear Sir or Madam
NEW HIGH SCHOOL IN BUNGENDORE
APPLICATION NO. SSD-14394209
I refer to the above state-significant development application.
I object to the proposal, for the following reason(s):
- I have lived in Bungendore for over 20 years & I believe this space to be the ‘Heart of the village' of Bungendore. It is NOT the right spot to put a High School
- There are many other areas around the town which are much better locations with more room for a High School to grow

I have not, and no associate of mine, has made any political donation to any person in the 2 years preceding this submission.
Yours faithfully,

Chareen Calllander

I object to the Bungendore High School being built on the existing recreational area in the heart of the village.
This is a communal space used by people of all ages. An essential gathering space for the village which actually makes it a rural village. Remove this and the charachter of Bungendore will be completely changed, just becoming another Canberra suburb.
The space has several heritage buildings on its outskirts to be enjoyed from this space.
Bungendore is growing rapidly and the size of High School required would not fit into the smallish area of the existing park.
There is abundant land around Bungendore where a high school could be more suitably positioned.

I would like to confirm my objection to the proposed building of the Bungendore high school on our town park. Apart from the fact that this land is not vacant is does not meet the size requirements as per the NSW Education Department guidelines. This proposed high school will end up being far to small for the number of children that will be attending and will not allow any room for expansion as the Bungendore population increases. If the plan is to eventually take the whole of our town park then this would show a complete disrespect for our town's heritage and our community as a whole.
It has now been revealed that paris also lead contamination along the rail corridor. The rail line will form a boundary to the proposed high school. You would that this would propose a serious health risk to the students as any clean up would create a lot of dust which would be highly contaminated. It is also very risky to locate a high school near a railway line as this could pose a serious mental health issue. Our community would certainly not want to lose one of it's younger members due to the short shortsightedness of Planning NSW, the Department of Education, our now resigned local member or our local Council.
I ask that this proposal be rejected and a more suitable location be found where our children will be safe and where any increase in the town's population can be accommodated.

APPLICATION NO. SSD-14394209 – FORMAL OBJECTION

I object to the project and have provided a written submission giving my reasons

See Attachment

For the proposed Bungendore High School. I'm Objecting, please see the attached PDF

I object to the proposal, for the following reasons:
• The loss of the Bungendore Community Centre which is due to be demolished for the construction of the new school
• The loss of the Bungendore community swimming pool – constructed with funds raised by the local community
• The loss of the proposed site for the Abbeyfield Senior Citizens’ housing development.
• The loss of portion of Bungendore’s historic town oval and its availability for 24-hour public use – the only public green space within the Bungendore town centre
• The loss of portion of Majara Street due to be closed due to the construction of the school and its associated detrimental traffic flow impacts on the Bungendore town centre
• The potential loss, damage and destruction of Indigenous cultural sites located within the proposed High School precinct, including known gravesites
• The potential loss, damage and destruction of heritage sites located within the proposed High School precinct, including the War Memorial site
• The loss of portion of the Bungendore Common lands to this project – these lands should be “Common” to the people of the Bungendore community – not the Department of Education or the NSW Government.

Submission in attachment

Attachment contains my submission

I urge the Department of Education and the NSW Government to go back to the drawing board and find a site that is more appropriate for our area and will offer the quality of education our children deserve.

Please find attached submission

To whom it may concern, I object to this project. Please see attached my supporting letter.

I object to SSD 14394209 - Bungendore High School for the reasons provided in the attached submission document.

Please see the attached objection. This is consistent with my earlier submission.

This 20pp submission is from Crown Land Our Land Inc.
It offers a range of objections based on an aspect that is almost entirely ignored throughout the entire EIS of this SSDA - Crown Land.
Yet the entire proposal pivots on two Crown Land sites - Bungendore Park, dedicated since 1884 AND Turallo Creek Reserve, reserved since 1981 and a traditional Common for a century prior. The nub of this is LOCATION.
However, CLOL has discovered another omission even more glaring - SITE-SIZE. Throughout all the EIS and its 28 Appendices there seem to be no consideration as to how this complex Bungendore High School proposal meets the mandates in the Dept of Education "Guidelines for determining appropriate site selection" Oct 2020".
Short answer - it doesn't.
For a Secondary School in regional/rural areas, the standard site size (and this inclusive of built form and open space) is 4 HECTARES.
The guidelines also require that the site shall be a SINGLE LOT or a consolidated groups of lots (all emphasis as printed).
This BHS-SSDA is based on patchwork of lots which combined equal 2.4 ha in one area. with second area of 0.5ha separated from the first by a public road.
Total land area involved for BHS is 2.9ha.
This is a shortfall of > 25% - ie 1.1ha.
On realising this, CLOL now considers that the most important objection to be made in regard to BHS is that because the plan does not comply with even the first, fundamental specification in DoE requirements, THIS SSDA SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN STARTED, much be allowed to get to Public Exhibition.
We therefore object to this SSDA as a major failure in governance - and this applies for all concerned: Department of Education, SINSW, and also QPRC for sins of both omission & commission.
The CLOL submission contains many other objections - any number of which would be cause for rejection. But this site-shortfall is so egregious, it out-objects them all.