Yasmar plans alarm residents
Fiona Brady
09Apr08
Haberfield residents (from left) Joe Crisei, Ben Nastasi and Adrian Walton with plans of the Yasmar building they say will overshadow their back yards. Picture: DAMIAN SHAW ULD96424
"MAMA Mia" is what residents of one Haberfield street might have said when they saw the plans for a two-storey Italian bilingual school set to be built behind their homes.
Residents of Chandos St whose properties back on to the historic Yasmar site where the school will be built say they have concerns over the scale of the development.
The charity Co.As.It. intends to demolish the east wing of the former juvenile detention centre to build a school for about 240 students.
"We want to stress that we don't have an issue with the school being built, it's the bulkiness of the development that worries us," said Adrian Walton, who is the spokesman for the 10 Chandos St residences which back on to the development.
"Having a two-storey building with lots of windows looking down into our rear yards invades our privacy and raises security issues.
"It will also cause overshadowing and take away from our property values.
"We like living in Haberfield because of the conservation aspects which restrict properties to one-storey and we believe that should apply here as well."
Mr Walton said local residents were also concerned over the impact on traffic in the area.
"There is already a traffic problem with Haberfield Public School that will be further exasperated by the Bilingual school coming into the area," he said.
"The increase in traffic will have an impact on the amenity of the Chandos St properties."
Co.As.It. chief executive Andrea Comastri said they were doing everything possible to address the concerns of residents.
He said Co.As.It had already met with residents and other stake-holders on several occasions. They also hosted a community information and feedback session last week.
"The approach we have taken is to listen to anyone who might have a concern or an opinion," he said.
"We are gathering all the feedback and we believe that there is a way of addressing people's concerns in a sensible way."
Mr Comastri said the charity had already taken a number of steps to limit the impact of the development on residents.
It would also look at "mitigating" the impact further when they had received all the feedback, he said.
"We believe that we are adding to the community by having a school there and not leaving the site vacant," he said.
School plan
for Yasmar
REGISTERED charity Co.As.It (Italian Association of Assistance) is proposing to construct new school facilities for its Italian Bilingual School on the grounds of the former Juvenile Justice Detention Centre on the historic Yasmar site in Haberfield.
The organisation was awarded a 20-year lease from the Lands Department to operate on the site last year.
The Co.As.It. proposal involves the demolition of the existing juvenile detention centre buildings and prison wall to construct a school for about 240 primary students.
The school will comprise 12 classrooms, a hall, administration building, a covered outdoor learning area, hard-soft play area and a landscaped piazza.
The school currently operates in a small part of Casa d'Italia in Norton St, Leichhardt.
The development application was lodged with Ashfield Council in January 2008 and is on exhibition until April 18.
The community can also provide feedback to the project team at Elton Consulting at Edward@elton.com.au before this Friday.
