14 March 2012

Strathfield Council will today forward its submission to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure opposing the proposed Australian Catholic University Concept Plan at the Strathfield Campus.

Council’s submission outlines concerns with ACU’s concept plan, which include –

• An unsustainable increase in student numbers
• An intolerable impact on traffic and parking around the campus
• A lack of major public transport supporting the site
• The suitability of the current site to house the proposed expansion

Strathfield Mayor, Councillor Paul Barron said the submission reflects both the feelings of residents, as well as expert opinion sought to assess the proposed concept plan.

“As well as representing the community, our submission to the Department opposing the ACU proposal is borne from our belief that it is fundamentally flawed and is an inappropriate development in what is a residential area,” he said.

“In our submission, we are asking the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure Brad Hazard to make the decision himself and reject this concept plan, rather than passing it on to the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) as a positive stance against this inappropriate development proposal.”

In addition, at last night’s Planning Committee Meeting, Council resolved to pursue legal action against ACU over any alleged breaches of its development consent.

Council will demand that ACU cease and desist any use of the site that is in breach of the consent provided, and seek assurances that student numbers will be capped to those numbers approved in the existing consents.

If no assurances are made by ACU, Council will commence proceedings in the Land and Environment Court regarding the alleged breaches.

Council’s submission to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure can be viewed here.