Westmead Catholic Community Education Campus draws parents’ ire
Parents are mounting pressure against a Catholic diocese to slash student numbers as part of its $80 million proposal to house 6000 pupils on a site in the Westmead health precinct.
Parramatta
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Parents are mounting pressure against the Parramatta Catholic Education Diocese to slash “unsustainable’’ student numbers as part of an $80 million proposal for 6000 pupils on a site near Westmead Hospital.
Westmead Catholic Community Education Campus will see student numbers on the Darcy Rd site soar from 2700 to 6000 under a plan that will include an early learning centre for 200 children and a 1680-student primary school, a 400-seat church.
The site is already home to Catherine McAuley and Parramatta Marist high schools — and Mother Teresa Primary School with a total of 2767 students.
Plans include merging Mother Teresa Primary with Sacred Heart Primary, which will relocate from Ralph St.
Frustrated parents have echoed Parramatta Council’s objections to the ambitious project, citing traffic congestion, overdevelopment and loss of recreation spaces for students.
Peter Boutros, whose son is in Year 10 at Parramatta Marist, slammed the project, primarily because of traffic congestion and the size.
“It’s not a site that can sustain 6000 students,’’ he said.
“The aspect of putting 5800 to 6000 students makes no sense.
“It’s not the right site for a super school. It’s not a new suburb.’’
The Oatlands resident said the site, near Westmead public and private hospitals and the Parramatta Light Rail construction site, was already choking with traffic and would only worsen, particularly with more primary school pupils depending on a lift from their parents instead of catching public transport.
Mr Boutros labelled the Darcy Rd and Briens Rd intersection “out of control” and “terrible”. “There’s parents that don’t even attempt to go that way in the morning anymore,’’ he said.
“At the same time we’re not anti-school improvements but it should be in consultation with the school community and what’s right for the site.
The Parramatta Marist alumnus criticised the diocese’s plan to cut the hockey field and demolish the Morley Centre gymnasium.
“There’s no facility in their future plans where you can gather in the school or hold an assembly or a Mass, or an awards ceremony,’’ he said.
“We’re talking about losing open space and recreation ovals used for sport.”
Parents have also sent a 250-signature petition to the Planning Department shortly after submissions for the primary closed.
The parents have the backing of Parramatta Council, which formally objected to the State Significant proposal in May.
“It’s their kids’ future. They pay their fees, they should have some say,’’ Parramatta Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer said.
“It’s going to be a major medical and education precinct so how you going to move all these people around?
“Westmead is an integral part of the planning. It’s a really important area and council should be consulted closely on it because there’s a whole range of reasons — the medical precinct, traffic, we need to be listened to because in our planning because we’ve got also Metro West.
A Parramatta Catholic Education Diocese spokeswoman insisted there was a demand for more schools in Westmead which struggled to accommodate hundreds of families.
“We’ve taken a bold decision to meet this growing need by delivering brand new, state-of-the-art facilities for primary, secondary and early education right in the heart of Westmead,’’ she said.
“We want more students and staff to be able to make the most of being part of a learning community at the centre of a world-class health and education precinct.’’
She said the development was a chance to change the traffic flow with new access roads, extra parking and kiss-and-drop zones planned “not just for the schools but for the suburb’’.
“We are working closely with the relevant council specialists on this.
“We are also working with council on how pedestrian access around the Darcy Rd site can be improved.’’
The diocese has defended claims from the council that it was bypassing it to go straight to the State Government.
“Projects like this need to be approved by the State Government rather than local councils,’’ the spokeswoman said.
“We’ve been cooperatively working with council representatives right throughout the planning process to make sure we get great outcomes on access to the site, traffic management and roads.”
The diocese spokeswoman also said the parents’ petition included information that did not fairly represent Westmead Catholic community and denied that it forced parents on an advisory panel to sign confidentiality forms that forbade them from talking to the media until three after the consultation started.
Parramatta Council has also written to Cumberland Council requesting it investigate ways to alleviate traffic at Hawkesbury Rd including no-right turn restriction in the southbound lane into Alexandra Ave.