Alterations to Hunters Hill Public School

New 2 storey classroom and toilet block at Hunters Hill Public School

 Hunters Hill Public School has plans for a new 2-storey classroom block at the school.  It is to be designed and built by Bovis Lend Lease under the Federal Government’s economic stimulus plan – “Nation Building”. 

Under this plan there is no requirement for the builder to submit a Development Application to Council. 

Hunters Hill Trust has expressed a number of concerns:

•  It is a great pity that a site-specific design was not commissioned for this location, which is in the heart of Hunters Hill Conservation Area No 1 and has a number of heritage items in close proximity.   An opportunity for a building of excellence has been lost.
•  Tanner Architects’ heritage impact statement is incomplete in that it does not assess the impact of the new building on adjacent heritage items and did not make any analysis of its impact on the conservation area.
•  The proposed building is large in scale compared to existing buildings on the site that are adjacent to it and compared to the existing buildings that are to be demolished.
•  Proposed materials are not sympathetic to the heritage buildings adjacent or the general locale
•  Because of the demolition of two existing single storey buildings the new building will be very apparent from Stanley Street and will have a major impact on the appearance of the site from that direction
•  An existing unsightly demountable building is not necessarily go to be demolished
•  The Conservation Advisory Panel made number of suggestions as to how to reduce the impact of the proposed building including:
  • make the roof form hipped rather than gabled, which would reduce its bulk when seen from Alexandra Street
  • introduce some windows into the Alexandra Street elevation to relieve its stark quality.
  • Increase the distance of the building from the side boundary to allow for more landscaping and trees to separate it from the adjacent heritage item.
  •  A colour scheme was not seen, but dark recessive colours would help lessen the impact of the building.

The Trust has made submissions to the school, the builders and both State and Federal Government arguing that a Development Application should be submitted to Council so that a proper assessment of its impact can be made.    Here is some of what we wrote to Judy Goodsell, the Principal of the school:

Hunters Hill Public School is located in one of the most historically important precincts in Hunters Hill.  It also has two Schedule 6 Heritage Items within its grounds and these are displayed on the masthead of the home page of its website.  Clearly the school has an interest and pride in its own architectural heritage.

 The school is also within Hunters Hill Council’s Conservation Area No 1 and there are a number of other Schedule 6 heritage items in the near vicinity.  Under Clause 19 of Local Environment Plan No 1, for any proposal within the Conservation Area or in the vicinity of an item of environmental heritage, Hunters Hill Council is required to assess its impact on both the Conservation Area itself and the heritage items nearby.  This is the process that was followed when the school most recently applied for approval to build additional facilities.

 The Hunters Hill Trust fought to have these heritage protection clauses included in the LEP.  Over the last 4 decades we have continuously campaigned to maintain the unique character of Hunters Hill through the conservation of its heritage.  We work both as a lobby group representing our 300 members and through our representation on a number of Council committees including the Conservation Advisory Panel, which advises Council on matters to do with conservation.

 We urge the school to insist that Bovis Lend Lease does submit a Development Application to Council so that a proper assessment of the proposal can be made.  This is something that would only be expected from such a long-standing and respected institution in the Municipality.  It would also set an example to its junior citizens that the school is as interested in heritage conservation as its website masthead would suggest. 

There was an informal meeting on site, which was attended by representatives of the builder, the school, the immediate neighbour and Council, but to date no formal DA has been lodged with Council.  On Wednesday 11 November, Council’s Conservation Advisory Panel had a look at the A4 notification drawings and made a number of comments, which the Council will no doubt forward to the builder and the school.