School community, church congregation hit out over residential plans for Wahroonga Estate
MEMBERS of the Adventist Church congregation at Wahroonga have hit out at plans for a major residential development that will surround a local school.
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AN ONGOING campaign to stop several apartment buildings from being constructed around Wahroonga Adventist School has seen a rising force of support.
Australasian Conference Association, the parent company of Wahroonga Adventist School and The Sydney Adventist Hospital, submitted revised plans for five six-storey towers including 200 units at the Fox Valley Rd Wahroonga Estate precinct in May this year.
Hundreds of objections were raised by residents, parents from Wahroonga Adventist School and the Fox Valley Region Action Group in recent submissions to the NSW Planning Department regarding the modified plans.
The objections were lodged alongside submissions from Ku-ring-gai Council that highlight concerns around building length, footprint, setbacks and bushfire protection.
Wahroonga resident and spokeswoman for the campaign against the development, Carli Jeffery said there was a lack of consultation from the developer to the wider community.
“The reputation of the Australasian Conference Association has been ruined,” she said.
“We will continue to fight them until the end — we are not going to give up.”
Ms Jeffery raised concerns about the developer’s response to residents concerns, calling for the developers “to man up and address the concerns of the community”.
Fox Valley Community Adventist Church member Russell Fehlberg said church members support the campaign against the masterplanned proposal.
“The church hierarchy have done the wrong thing by keeping the wider community in the dark,” Mr Fehlberg said. “They have not been telling people all of the information we needed to understand the proposal and it is now at a stage where we cannot do anything about it.
“I don’t even trust my own church.”
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Mr Fehlberg, who has been a member of the church for all of his life, said he feared for the wellbeing of his grandchildren, who attend the Wahroonga Adventist School.
“Everyone I have spoken to from the church community are unified against this proposal,” he said.
The Advocate understands church members will come together this week to vote as a congregation on their position on the development.
“The hierarchy of the church are trying to stop people from attending meetings where there will be a formal vote of members to oppose the development,” Mr Fehlberg said.
A spokeswoman for the Australasian Conference Association and builders, Capital Bluestone, said the applicant was working with residents to address concerns.
“There is a meeting with the school and parents this week to outline an amended approach on the composition and delivery program for the residential community,” she said.
“Through in-depth collaborative work with the school, parents and our expert consultants, we have been able to make some very significant and real changes that we believe represent a true and positive compromise to reach a better outcome for everyone.”
Several modifications were made to the plans in recent weeks, including an change to parking, heights and the building envelope.
It is expected the NSW Planning Department will complete its determination of the modifications later this year, which could lead to a development application.
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