Chatswood Primary School: Aqualand offers to build new park

A developer is offering to build valuable green space for a school – but in return wants controversial assurances about a nearby project.

The enrolment squeeze at a north shore primary school could be eased under plans by one of Sydney’s largest developers to bankroll new playing space for students.

Aqualand has made an offer to Willoughby Council to turn a run-down commercial office north of the school into a new 1142 sqm park that could be used by students and the general public outside school hours.

The company’s offer for the site at 688-692 Pacific Hwy sites comes on the proviso the floor space ratio planning benefits could be transferred to another block of land it owns at 629-639 Pacific Highway – about 850m south of the school gates.

Student numbers have surged at Chatswood Primary School.

Willoughby Council said it was understood to be the first deal of its type offered in the region and could result in future development plans for the 629-639 site exceeding the council’s planning regulations.

But local councillors and parents of the primary school have backed the proposal with supporters describing it as a “win-win” for the community.

The school’s enrolment numbers have soared from 1072 students in 2015 to 1343 in 2020 and lack of space at the campus has resulted in recess and lunch breaks staged into separate sessions along with assemblies split due to size constraints at the school’s meeting hall.

A photo of the building that could be turned into a new park.

School P & C president Kate Periera said the extra playing space was preferable to current redevelopment plans for the school which includes adding new playing areas on the rooftops of school buildings.

“Many families in our school demographic live in high rise apartments and don’t have backyards – for those students the school is their backyard,” she said.

“(The redevelopment plans) include one full size basketball court and three half courts for a school of more than 1250 kids – this will be the only space they have to participate in class sports. It is far from ideal.

“The rooftops will also be unbearably hot in summer and will have limitations on the games and types of sports that can be played.

“A park would benefit students, the school and also the wider community.”

Speaking at last week’s council meeting, Aqualand project director Andrew Cooper said the offer had “strategic merit” and would incur no construction costs for the council.

“If we don’t do it, commercial purposes will take over (the 688-692 Pacific Hwy site) but we’ve held off in an endeavour to get this particular aspiration achieved,” he said.

“We have an amazing opportunity here where we have a landowner with two sites and this is something that could make an incredible difference to the school and the community.”

A council report stated the impact of allowing additional floor space at 629-639 Pacific Hwy could create a development that exceeds the bulk and scale outlined in the council’s Chatswood CBD planning strategy for the site.

A concept image of early development plans for the 629-639 Pacific Hwy site.

“This has the potential to result in greater overshadowing, less open space, a bulkier built form contrary to the objectives of achieving slender tower forms and could set a precedent for other sites to achieve development above the CBD strategy,” the council said.

In a letter to the council Aqualand said the transfer of floor space ratio would not involve an increase to the current 90m height limit at 629-639 Pacific Hwy.

Willoughby Councillor Lynne Saville said the proposal was a “win-win” and follows a decade-long campaign to acquire the 688-692 Pacific Hwy for school purposes.

“This has been something we’ve been calling for 10-12 years when it became obvious that the needs of the school were being stretched by population growth,” she said.

“Each year the school has increased by one class size – it’s increased with each block of units built in Chatswood.

“At the moment the primary school is 50 per cent above capacity and by 2030 the Chatswood population is set to increase by 27 per cent.

“The developer will get a bit more space on the other site – it will be a bulkier building – but we have to weigh up the positives.”

Aqualand said a detailed planning proposal would be developed for the 629-639 Pacific Hwy site that would include a voluntary planning agreement with details of the new park.

The redevelopment of Chatswood Primary School was approved in January this year.