Brighton Grammar accused of being selfish over extended gym opening hours

Brighton residents have accused the elite private school of being “selfish” in a spat over extended opening hours of its onsite gym.

Brighton Grammar School wants to extend the opening hours of its gym. Picture: Penny Stephens

Brighton Grammar School has been accused of being “selfish” by neighbours after the elite private school applied to operate its gymnasium seven days a week from 7am until late at night.

Angry residents have won some concessions around parking and the operating hours proposed by the boys’ school for its junior school gym in Outer Crescent.

The school wanted to extend weekday hours from 7am to 9.30pm, replacing a 6pm closing time.

It also wanted to open on the weekends, from 7am to 6pm on Saturdays and 7am to 5pm on Sundays.

Seven neighbours objected to the school’s bid to extend use of the gymnasium which backs on to Cadby St, Brighton, and is zoned residential.

The state of the art Annandale Gym is currently used by students during school hours but open to the public at other times during weekdays.

Resident Mac Lemon lashed the school’s encroachment into the neighbourhood, telling a Bayside City Council planning committee the extended use of the gym for junior basketball practice was “the thin edge of the Trojan wedge”.

Residents say their patience with Brighton Grammar is wearing thin. Picture: Penny Stephens

Mr Lemon said the push to extend the gym’s hours was a forerunner for wider use of tennis courts and the swimming pool, pointing to a separate planning application to install lights for the tennis courts which was being dealt with by council.

“VCAT issued the time restraint with the original gymnasium planning then two years ago when the school sought to extend hours council rejected that application – why is it different today?” he asked the committee.

Neighbours Effie and Victor Leeman begged the council to curtail the gym hours, saying they already could not park in their street and were disturbs by noise from the gym.

The hospitality business owners said an early start meant they were often in bed at 8.30pm and extending the gym’s operating hours would affect their quality of life.

“Extending hours to Sunday to rent out the gym to make more money for Brighton Grammar at the detriment of all the local residents is unacceptable and totally selfish,” they said in a written submission.

Mr Lemon said he doubted the school had “altruistic motives” to provide its privileged facilities to support grassroots sport, saying the gym was operating as a commercial business.

Brighton Grammar opposed the residents’ objections, submitting specialist traffic and noise reports which showed the extended gym hours would not negatively impact Cadby residents.

The school said the gym would be primarily used by schoolchildren but could be used by the wider community for basketball, badminton and futsal.

The council committee backed an amended application by Brighton Grammar in which the gym would close by 8pm on weekdays instead of the desired 9:30pm.

But it green light weekend openings including between 9am and 3pm Sundays.

It also put in provisions that pedestrian and car access be banned from Cadby St with people directed to access on campus carparks from other streets.