St Augustine’s College: Brookvale school hikes students numbers by 400 — without approval

Close to 400 more students are on the books at a private northern beaches school than it is permitted to have. And its neighbours are not happy.

St Augustine's College is a much sought after Catholic school at Brookvale, for boys in years five to 12 — but it has breached its allowable enrolment figure by 400 students. Picture: Annika Enderborg

A popular private school on the northern beaches has put up its hand to overstepping its official student enrolment limit by one-third — close to 400 students.

St Augustine’s College, a Catholic school for Year 5-12 boys at Brookvale, admitted the breach when it applied to build two new open air car parks.

The school lodged the car park development application so it can add 54 more spaces to cope with the unofficial increase in student and staff numbers.

It confirmed to Northern Beaches Council that it now had 1560 boys on its books. But the school only has council permission, through a 2012 DA, for 1200 students.

The council has told the school that if it gets the extra parking, enrolments would be capped at 1600.

St Augustine's College, viewed from Alfred Rd, has council permission for 1200 students, but has 1560 boys on its books. Picture: Annika Enderborg

But the school’s bid for the car parks hit a roadblock after local planning officials said it could not approve the application until it was provided with a more detailed “Transport and Parking Management Plan”.

The independent Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel, which is examining the DA after the council received more than 50 public submissions concerned about pedestrian safety, increased in traffic as well as noise and air pollution in Brookvale backstreets, deferred making a decision when it met last month.

It also received a number of complaints about the unofficial increase in student numbers.

The panel has told the school to provide more detailed information about extra cars, off-street parking spaces taken up by school staff and students; operation of bus and pick up and drop off zones and noise generation affecting neighbours.

In its written reasons for deferring the DA, the Panel noted that “student numbers have increased without approval over time”.

A plan of one of the proposed new car parks at St Augustine's College, Brookvale. Picture: Core Property Consulting

“Local residents are experiencing issues with traffic, parking and noise”.

A 1.8m high acoustic barrier fence is proposed around the boundaries of the carparks where they adjoin neighbouring residential properties in Federal Pde and Alfred Rd.

Federal Pde resident Paul Stephens, who addressed the panel meeting, said he was concerned with the school’s unofficial growth in student enrolments and its effects on surrounding private properties.

Mr Stephens also questioned why the school was not penalised in some way for breaching enrolment numbers.

“Over the years they have completely disregarded their current allowance,” Mr Stephens said.

“It is a commercial site. Each student is worth around $16,500 (in fees) per year, so that the school will get an extra $6 million a year just by breaching (the allowed student number).”

Another local, John Truszewski, told he panel that the council had four years to address the noncompliance by St Augustine’s.

A plan of the one of the two proposed car parks at St Augustine's College. Picture: Core Property Consulting

“The school has continued to increase the numbers.

“It’s being very disrespectful to the (compliance rules) and the community.”

St Augustine’s College said on Friday that it would continue to work with the council and planning authorities to “ensure suitable solutions are in place and to minimise impacts on neighbours”.

“The college’s DA is a result of a fluctuation in student numbers, and a recognition that we need to improve the availability of parking spaces around the school site,” a spokeswoman said.

“The growth in numbers of school-aged children on the northern beaches, and the number of local families wishing to send their sons to St Augustine’s College, continues to be very strong and the college has been working with the council and neighbours to address concerns.”