Education Minister Rob Stokes backs plan to bulldoze bushland for Manly Vale school extensions

The Pittwater MP and newly appointed Education Minister argued that the urgent need to cater for student growth on the peninsula outweighed environmental concerns.

Manly Vale Public School artists impressions. Picture: Supplied.

• Three-year battle over school upgrades to come to an end
• Education Department alters Manly Vale school plans to save bushland
• New Education Minister Rob Stokes to reconsider school plans

EDUCATION Minister Rob Stokes has dealt the final blow to a three-year campaign to stop the bulldozing of bushland to extend Manly Vale Public School.

Mr Stokes yesterday confirmed that a last-ditch attempt by the Northern Beaches Council and Save Manly Dam Catchment Committee (SMDCC) to keep 3.65ha of bushland had failed.

Manly Vale Public School is soon to change dramatically. Picture: Virginia Young.

Council administrator Dick Persson criticised the decision as a loss for the community.

The council met the new Education Minister last week with hopes he would rethink the approved plans.

But Mr Stokes told the Manly Daily the urgent need to allow for student growth on the peninsula outweighed other concerns.

Education Minister Rob Stokes. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The Pittwater MP said he visited the site and spoke to parents and the community about the $22 million plans, which would allow for up to 1000 students.

“A lot of work has been done, a significant redesign has been undertaken and I do not support further delay,” he said.

The Education Department’s redesign in October gave back 0.35ha of bush by bending a classroom.

Mr Stokes said council plans to have split campuses would create “unacceptable delays for a school community that has waited patiently for many years”.

He said calls from SMDCC to build up on the school’s existing footprint were not possible because it would take over the playground area. Mr Persson was scathing in his assessment of the decision, saying while the school had waited years, “this is a decision we will have to live with for 100 years plus”.

Northern Beaches Council administrator Dick Persson. Picture: Troy Snook.

“The redesign was not significant, it was minor. I don’t believe it is an appropriate location for 1000 students on a hill with traffic and fire issues,” he said.

Mr Persson pointed the finger at the department’s planners, calling the designs a “stuff-up”.

“I don’t blame Rob Stokes, he has inherited a bad tasting sandwich, but I am disappointed he has been persuaded to press on with this project,” he said.

He said the decision was “thrown in the face of promises former premier Mike Baird made when he said bigger councils would have an opportunity to negotiate”.

“They crashed through and did whatever it took.”

Greens NSW MP and Environment Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi with members of the Save Manly Dam Catchment Committee. Picture: Virginia Young.

But Mr Stokes defended the decision saying the school was happy with the redesign which provided another covered outdoor learning area.

He said the redesign meant there were environmental benefits such as rehabilitating weed-infested areas, better drainage to improve damaged habitats and creating new habitats for the endangered red crowned toadlet.

Mr Persson said he had even offered a council-owned site at Millers Reserve for a second school.

He said there has “never been collaboration with the department to help us understand what has or has not been attainable”.

Manly Dam War Memorial Park. Picture: Virginia Young.

David Tribe from the SMDCC said: “The whole process was poorly managed from the beginning … with the lack of communication by department officials, particularly when the community asked for meetings and were ignored.”

Mr Tribe, a former principal at the school said plans would “destroy a valuable teaching resource that has been used for many years”.

Mr Stokes acknowledged Mr Persson’s concerns but was unwilling to go back to the drawing board.

“If you build a new school you have a lot more environmental challenges when you look at state-owned land, so whatever environmental costs associated with this proposal need to be compared with the costs of another proposal,” he said.