Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by
Councillor Ellsmore –
It is resolved
that:
(A)
Council strongly supports NSW Government investment
in public education;
(B)
Council
note:
(i)
the NSW Government is currently undertaking a
re-development of Fort Street Public school, situated on Observatory Hill;
(ii)
Observatory Hill is one of
Australia’s most historic sites, being the site of the
first windmill in 1796, Fort Phillip in 1800, a signal station to communicate
with ships from 1825, and the Colony’s second hospital, built in 1825, which in
1848 was converted into the Fort Street Model School;
(iii)
the first
observatory, built in Sydney in 1788 as the southern hemisphere was regarded as
an important site for astronomical observations, has also housed a time ball
which signalled the time to ships in the harbour each day;
(iv)
due to increasing
light and pollution the Observatory closed in 1982 and is now a museum;
(v)
there is a lack of transparency
surrounding the NSW Government’s
multimillion dollar budget for the NSW Government’s modification of Fort
Street Public School;
(vi)
there has been inadequate
consultation with the Millers Point community regarding the proposed modifications
to the school;
(vii)
the State Significant Development
Application for the Fort Street Public School redevelopment was approved in
October 2020 and Modification 1 was approved in December 2021;
(viii)
the City made submissions to both the
original application and Modification 1 raising various concerns including
about traffic and transport, the harbour bridge cycleway interface, tree
retention, light pollution to the observatory, materials used, the public
domain and heritage impacts;
(ix)
on 20 May 2021, Heritage NSW advised the NSW
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment that the proposed modification
to the school does not comply with the Conservation Management Plan;
(x)
local residents and the National Trust raised
concerns about the increased bulk and visual impacts from an additional level
to Building J;
(xi)
in August 2021, the Lord Mayor wrote to the then
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces requesting the Department of Planning,
Industry and Environment investigates ways to reduce the bulk of the additional
level to Building J;
(xii)
in August 2021, the City’s Heritage and Urban
Design Manager met with the Millers Point Community Resident Action Group and
the National Trust to discuss their concerns and options for how the design of
Building J could be amended to reduce its bulk;
(xiii)
City staff discussed these options with
Departmental staff and referred to them in their submission to Modification 1;
(xiv)
following this, School Infrastructure NSW amended
its plans to reduce the bulk and height of Building J in response to the Lord
Mayor’s advocacy and the valid concerns of the National Trust, the local
community and City staff;
(xv)
these amended plans were subsequently approved
under Modification 1 by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment;
(xvi)
there is another modification
currently on exhibition (Modification 2) which slightly increases the height of
Building J due to technical constraints on the lift systems. School
Infrastructure NSW has only put this on display for public comment for the
minimum required 14 days;
(xvii) as part of
the Modification 2 application, Ethos Urban undertook a visual impact
assessment using the meteorology roofline for its low-level view impairment
assessment. Many residential and commercial buildings located on Kent Street
have harbour bridge views that are below the nominated reduced level, yet there
was a failure to acknowledge this in the report. Increasing the stair lobby and
lift overrun by 310 and 610 millimetres, respectively, only furthers the damage
done to Observatory Hill's skyline and the view loss by local residents,
businesses, community and tourists;
(xviii) the
original design was for a low-line build that adhered to the Conservation
Management Plan and appears to complement the historical values of Observatory
Hill;
(xix)
NSW has a mechanism within the
planning legislation to protect sightlines;
(xx)
it is important that the public
education continues to be supported and developed within our city. However,
this development must take into account the existing heritage of the city that
is significant to its character and history;
(xxi)
the City’s most recent submission on the Fort
Street School redevelopment is for Modification 2 (SSD 10340 MOD 2), which was
provided to the Department of Planning and Environment on 7 December 2022; and
(xxii) in its submission, the
City recommended that the height increase to the stair and lobby roof in
Building J be minimised as much as possible, noting the constraints of the
servicing requirements. The City also recommend that the heritage mitigations
in the Heritage Impact Study be followed; and
(C)
the
Lord Mayor be requested to write to the below Ministers to support the City’s
submission and advocate for evidenced-based heritage outcomes for Observatory
Hill and advocate for all current, planned, and potential future modifications
to Fort Street Public School to deliver those outcomes;
(i)
Minister for Environment and Heritage and Shadow
Minister for Heritage;
(ii)
Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for
Education; and
(iii)
Minister for Planning and Homes and Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces.
Carried unanimously.
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