Stella Maris College wins school fight over demountable classrooms on suburban street
Angry locals say permission given to a northern beaches’ private school for eight demountable classrooms is just ‘expansion by stealth’.
Manly
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Northern beaches’ residents have lost a community battle to stop a private school building eight demountable classrooms in their suburban street.
Locals living at Manly fear a decision to allow Stella Maris College to bulldoze two houses it owns, and replace them with the “general learning areas”, is the start of the school’s expansion “by stealth”.
Development approval was granted by the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel on Monday for the all-girls Catholic secondary school to build the temporary one-storey building, with eight classrooms, at 48 and 50 Eurobin Ave.
The panel became the consent authority after Northern Beaches Council received 29 submissions opposed to the DA.
Stella Maris says it needs the demountables for at least two years to accommodate students during the construction — which it already has permission for — of a new Creative Arts Building in 2024.
But the college has also advised residents, in a letter distributed in January, that as part of its Masterplan, it has “longer term” plans for a three-storey “senior hub and additional car parks” on the site where the demountables will be located.
Principal Elizabeth Carnegie wrote that the school also wants to eventually replace current years 11 and 12 facilities at its Benedict Campus on Pittwater Rd and turn the site into a sports complex.
Ms Carnegie also confirmed that the college does not want to increase student enrolments.
But neighbours have been conducting a lively community campaign against the rezoning of the two residential blocks — which the College bought eight years ago — from residential to educational, saying it will take away from the character of their street.
Felicity Weaver, who has been leading the campaign, told the panel on Friday that the DA for the demountables was “simply one of the pieces in a longer puzzle”.
“That is of massive concern and consequence to us as neighbours,” Ms Weaver said.
“It is expansion by stealth.
“Our disappointment is that we know a Masterplan exists and they have intentions to build, but they refuse to confirm it.”
Ms Weaver also told the panel the school had been in negotiations for a sale with other house owner in Eurobin Ave and in Iluka Ave.
“Nobody wants to be near a 12m high building that’s 5m off their property.”
Another resident, Adrian Breakspear, said locals had been “let down by the lack of transparency by the school”.
“We’ve got a very ugly building ahead of us, not in keeping it the heritage of the street.”
Michelle Washington, from the Friends of Manly community group, told the panel that “the important thing is that we all work together to manage the growth of the school and the community around it.
“Communities don’t want to live in fear of what’s going to happen next door to them.”
She said details of the masterplan should be “shared with the community.”
Stella Maris said on Tuesday that it was pleased with the panel’s decision.
A spokeswoman said it had been providing its neighbours with “several updates over the past months since the DA was submitted and had responded to all queries made by email and phone.
“We will update neighbours in the next week to confirm the timeline for works, and to address any concerns they may have leading up to this work.
“We expect to complete the works at 48-50 Eurobin Avenue in time for the 2024 school year.”
The spokeswoman said the college had no firm plans for the long term use of demountables’ site.
“Following the completion of the works on the main college site we will consider our needs, funding, and timing of potential development on the site. At that time, we will consult further to ensure the best outcome for the College and local community.”
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