The Scots College to receive new tennis courts after Land and Environment Court green light

Contentious plans for major works at an elite all-boys school has been given the go ahead by the Land and Environment Court, all but bringing an end to the long-running saga.

The Scots College, Bellevue Hill. Picture: Danny Aarons.

A major $10.6m upgrade to a prestigious eastern suburbs private school is set to go ahead, after an appeal was upheld in the Land and Environment Court.

The ruling, nearly four years after the plans were first submitted, comes amid a raft of contentious building projects across private high schools in the north shore and eastern suburbs.

The Scots College lodged an appeal after the contentious plans despite the development application receiving approval from the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel in 2020.

The plans, costed at $10,646,975, involve major works at the Bellevue Hill private boys school, including the demolition of the existing tennis courts to facilitate excavation to create an underground car park and other facilities.

New tennis courts will then be built above the car park, with a new school entry created at Victoria Road.

Scots College in Bellevue Hill put forward a $10.6 million development application to demolish and rebuild the tennis courts in order to excavate an underground carpark in 2019.

The ruling was made after both parties consented to an amendment removing reference to increasing student numbers to 1520.

The proposal faced sustained backlash from nearby residents, who argued the boost to student numbers would exacerbate existing traffic problems

The major works were refused by Woollahra Council, which had submitted the site was “unsuitable” for the proposed development.

Plans submitted for the extensive works.

A meeting of the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel in 2020 revealed the school had enrolled 400 more pupils than permitted five years prior, leading Woollahra Council officers to recommend the panel refuse the application.

Community group Concerned Scots Neighbours, which represented 300 residents at the 2020 planning panel sitting, argued increased student numbers would exacerbate congestion problems.

Woollahra Council’s development assessment report argued the site was “unsuitable” for the proposed development.

“The applicant has not demonstrated to the satisfaction of council that the proposed car park to support an additional 400 students would not have an unacceptable impact on the surrounding road network and residential amenity,” the report stated.

The Scots College, Bellevue Hill. Picture: Danny Aarons.

The application was approved by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel on 11 March 2021, and was then sent to the Land and Environment Court following an appeal by The Scots College.

The appeal was upheld by Susan O‘Neill who stated, in considering the design quality of the proposal, she was satisfied it was appropriate to grant development consent to the proposal.

“I am satisfied, on the basis of the evidence before me, that the agreement of the parties is a decision that the court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions,” Ms O‘Neill wrote.

Conciliation between the college and Woollahra Council began in March, and concluded with the parties reaching an agreement around the terms of the court’s decision.