The school rebuild,which is approved and under construction,contains a new building that was originally planned to be 55.69 metres above sea level. But developer Lendlease now says that,to accommodate the lifts,it needs to go as high as 56.3 metres – or just over half a metre taller.
The modification plans were placed on public exhibition in December and January and attracted 36 objections,including from the National Trust of NSW,the Millers Point Residents Action Group and the strata committees of the Stamford and Highgate residential buildings.
But Fort Street parents,whose children are learning in demountables in Ultimo while the works are under way,supported the changes. The P&C noted they were “minor in scope but necessary to ensure that the development provides equitable access and is fully functional”.
A key problem for many objectors was that by increasing the height of a stairwell and lift shaft – by 31 centimetres and 61 centimetres respectively – the school building would creep above the nearby Bureau of Meteorology building,which was supposed to be the “dominant building” on the hill.
Carlene Smith of the Stamford Marque strata committee said the height increase “only furthers the damage done to Observatory Hill’s skyline and the view loss by local residents and businesses”,and warned it would set a precedent for more height creep in the area.
Fort Street Public School,located at Millers Point next to the Sydney CBD,is being rebuilt.Louie Douvis
The NSW National Trust – which is the school’s neighbour – also objected. Its conservation director David Burdon wrote that building height “has always been and will remain the major issue on this sensitive sight[sic]” and it was inconceivable that issues with the lift design were only discovered during construction,not earlier.
Finance worker Lindsay Walker,who lives across the freeway in The Rocks,said he stayed silent on Fort Street’s original plans but felt an additional,after-the-fact height increase was unfair and an abuse of due process.
“I didn’t object in the first place. It’s grabbing a fair bit of my sky,but it’s a school,” Walker said. “I am objecting to grabbing a bit more because who knows,if they can pull this one off,[they’ll say],‘Let’s add another classroom on.’ It just seems they’re trying to exhaust citizens out of objecting.”
A 67-page study by Ethos Urban concluded the visual impact of the change was low to negligible,and “was likely to not be visible or be generally imperceptible from all the viewpoints” surveyed.
Fort Street Public School in July 2021.Nick Moir
Melanie Tait – who has a son at Fort Street and two daughters enrolled for future years – said the situation was tough for parents,and it was difficult for older residents in the nearby towers to understand the importance of having a functioning primary school nearby.
“Whenever there’s something to object to,all these people come out of the woodwork and everyone who doesn’t have a problem with it doesn’t say anything,” she said.
“You’re talking about a lift overrun – it’s not even 60 centimetres across the whole build. We just want the school to be finished,and we want them to do a good job this time so that they’re not renovating again in a couple of years.”
The redevelopment has been controversial from the start.,mostly concerned about building heights and the obstruction of views.
Those are hot-buttons issue in Millers Point. NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts last year.
Several objections to the Fort Street modification also raised concerns about the project’s $68 million price tag. The primary school has fewer than 300 students but,once rebuilt,it will have a capacity for 550.
The school referred questions to the Department of Education,which said the “minor” design modifications would improve access between the school’s heritage and new buildings.
“Relevant stakeholders,including representatives for local residents,were consulted prior to submitting the modification,” it said. “We are currently preparing responses to all submissions,as part of usual process.”
On Sunday,theHerald reported on another proposed lift causing controversy in the city;. In that case,Potts Point and Kings Cross Heritage Society president Andrew Woodhouse said people who could not climb the stairs could catch the bus instead.
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