Sutherland Shire Council approves backyard Yarrawarrah swim school  

A father who teaches local kids to swim has won a months-long battle to revive his backyard swimming school after council forced him to shut the business down following a noise complaint.

A father who teaches local kids to swim has won a months-long battle to revive his backyard swimming school after council forced him to shut the business down.

The victory comes nearly eight months after Sutherland Shire Council compliance officers told Andrew Duncan he could no longer operate Make a Splash Swim School from his Yarrawarrah property in February following a noise complaint.

Mr Duncan lodged a development application to classify the swim school as a “home-based business” in a bid to keep it afloat, with council finally greenlighting the plans last week.

The father-of-two said up to 100 children will now be able to continue their learn to swim journey just in time for summer.

“It’s such a relief for the whole family as the business has been around for four years, and to get approval makes such a big difference,” he said.

Andrew Duncan celebrates the approval for his development application with his children.

“There is much more peace of mind knowing everything is in line with what council want.

“The whole process was definitely very taxing on my mental health but now being out the other side is … such a weight off our shoulders.”

Mr Duncan said council generously allowed him to continue lessons after he lodged the DA, but the final approval meant his business would be safeguarded from any future complaints.

It comes after the swim school was temporarily forced to cease business when a neighbour made a complaint to council about noise and traffic issues.

Mr Duncan had operated the swim school for three years until that point and was the only teacher, teaching one to two children at a time between 8am and 6pm.

He said council told him those arrangements complied with the required conditions for an “exempt business” when he made initial inquiries about starting the swim school.

Mr Duncan was forced to temporarily forced to cease business in February, prompting community outcry.

However, the noise complaint prompted officers to issue a “stop use order,” initiating a drawn out back-and-forth with council which led Mr Duncan to spend close to $10,0000 on an independent noise level assessment and parking survey.

The survey revealed the noise levels were within an acceptable range for the local environment and there were no issues with parking in his street.

But it still took a petition with more than 2000 signatures – and a DA – to keep the business from going under.

Red tape aside, Mr Duncan said he was “extremely thankful” for the community support and looked forward to teaching more kids how to swim, as the waitlist for his school grows.

“[Being back in business] is really important because a lot of the kids I teach at the school are neurodiverse and they tend to thrive in that environment, it’s much more quiet [and] much more comfortable for them,” Mr Duncan said.

“Swimming is one of the most important skills to learn and it’s a safety issue, many of the kids around the Shire have pools in their backyard and need to know how to swim.

“Weare extremely thankful to everyone that has helped us – the council, the local community, and the swim school parents.”