A large group of Berkeley residents have launched a protest over a Catholic education plan to build a school for disadvantaged teenagers in their narrow residential streets.
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Chris Gromek, who has lived in Berkeley for more than 40 years and is one of dozens of concerned residents who are worried about traffic, parking, safety concerns and increased anti-social behaviour the school will bring to an area mostly populated by retirees and aged-care residents.
Edmund Rice Education lodged an application to build a “flexible learning centre” plan on an L-shaped block between Middlesex and Southampton streets last month, saying it has “outgrown” an existing facility at Towradgi.
It would cater for up to 100 students who are “out of ordinary school, usually from dysfunctional families, always from poor circumstances”, the application with Wollongong council said.
“Basically the site is going to look like a jail, 90 per cent of it is hard surfaces and there’s nowhere the kids can play,” Mr Gromek said, noting there would be fences of up to 4.5 metres built around some sections of the school.
“There’s no infrastructure, no bus stops, no shopping centre for [the students] to buy their lunch. The parking is already horrendous in the very narrow street and the entry to both streets is on a bend which will make access different.”
According to Edmund Rice’s plans, the school of 13 staff and up to 100 students would have access to 11 car spaces and seven bicycle parks.
Mr Gromek said Berkeley residents believed the Towradgi site was more suitable for the school’s expansion as it had access to transport, services and a major road.
“It’s not in the kids’ best interests to be in Berkeley, or the best interests of the people who live here,” he said.
Along with other concerned residents, he has gathered more than 200 signatures on a petition against the school which he plans to lodge with the council in an effort to stop its approval.
The application noted the Berkeley site’s residential zoning prohibits an educational establishment. However, a school can be approved through the state’s infrastructure planning instrument with the council’s consent.
“It is not considered that the proposal will result in any unreasonable detrimental impacts upon the adjoining properties or upon the character of the surrounding area,” the application said.
