14 Cunningham Street, Telopea NSW 2117

I do not support a boarding house - and subsequent transient population - so close to a school and park. This introduces risks to young children in the area.

We have a beautiful, little primary school very close by and building a 5 storey boarding house will ruin the area, beginning with the parking situation which is already difficult at drop off and pick up times. A boarding house will attract all the wrong people around the school vicinity which would be very unwelcome. We don't need this part of Telopea to be overcrowded. This addition would be extremely disruptive and disappointing for the whole school community.

Not next to a primary school. A block away, fine. But next to the school will cause in convenience to the residence during school hours and at times of pick up and drop off, as well as increase population and limit parking and traffic further. Bad idea.

This is a completely inappropriate development for such a small street and near a primary school. There is not enough parking in the street with the current houses there and it is very difficult for parents who have to park there already for school drop off and pick up. Making this street busier is not practical when it is barely wide enough for current parking or driving along there.

In addition, putting a very transient population near a school and child care full of vulnerable young children is inherently risky and the safety of the children should be secured when at school, child care, or in the public park when the teachers cannot observe what is happening.

A boarding house is not suitable in a suburb like Telopea that is already full of medium density housing and now lacking crucial local resources such a supermarket since the closing of IGA. Furthermore, unless there is an additional plan for more parking and public transport routes, it will cause traffic and delays during peak school times. Please re-think this and consider suburbs that have the capacity for this type of dwelling.

This development is inappropriate to the family-oriented area of Telopea, and misaligned to the ultimate purposes of the broader Telopea Precinct development in progress.

Its specific location and proximity to Telopea Public school also raises serious concerns for the community, particularly the safety of the school children.

There are legitimate concerns that this type of development would only exacerbate existing social and safety issues in the area that this community is continuously fighting so hard to unburden itself of.

This development plan is unnecessary and inappropriate. Safety of local residents, visitors of Sturt park, and students of Telopea Public School are of concern due to unexpected boarding guests. Traffic issue is also concerning as local residents are already experiencing this without the proposed 26 rooms.

I hope Parramatta Council will prioritise more important development needs in the Telopea neighbourhood. (e.g. improvement of shopping centre, social safety issues near a few areas, etc)

Building a boarding house of five stories high and 26 bedrooms in a street three houses away from the main entrance of a primary school is not a good idea, way too close if you ask me and I don’t approve.
Surely there is an appropriate site located a block away from the school which will not affect the residents of Cunningham street and the current students of the school.

Cunningham street is absolutely teeny tiny and packed to capacity at the moment let alone if this gets approved not to mention it’s so hard to get a park for school pick up and drop off.
Please do not let this get approved.
Thank you.

This development is inappropriate and will directly impact the safety of the local residents and families living near the area. The area needs to improve in social safety and a boarding house of such short distance from a school full of young children is definitely unacceptable.

Please prioritise the safety and wellbeing of local residents.

I'd like more info about it will owners of the dwelling take note of the children and the school will they background checks on the application
Kiddy fiddlers will they be approved or declined application to move in.
The building will have its own carpark
See what goes

There are enough boarding houses and housing commission on telopea. This development is not appropriate for the area . Council need to clean up telopea , not add more opportunities for undesirables to come into the area

Creating another public housing so close to school and public area will create extra safety pressure and discomfort more than we already have.

From security perspective: How will the applicants vetted? How long will they stay? What kind of people will they attract? If they cause trouble, can they be easily transferred out of the house? Will there be an in house manager who can look after the house and keep them orderly /presentable?

From community perspective:
Are you going to plant the same amount of trees you taking down? Will there be enough parking for school drop off/pick up? Having a boarding house so close also making the school even more unattractive than it already is. What are the government’s plans to tackle this and help push the quality and rank of the school higher whilst ensuring the safety of our children??

I am questioning the appropriateness of building a boarding house on Cunningham Street? As others have pointed out it is in close proximity to Telopea Public School, the Waratah Centre (a school for “at risk” teens) and Green Trees Preschool. While we won’t know the character and background of the future residents, I fear that it may negatively impact the children who attend these schools.

Another consideration is if the street can accommodate the necessary infrastructure that is required for a boarding house. I believe at a minimum public transport/amenities needs to be nearby and readily accessible for people including disability accessibility. Surely this means a safe walking footpath which the street does not have. Will the state government foot the bill a footpath?

As a local resident, I strongly oppose this application. It will put the safety of the small community in dangerous. It has no benefit to local community. And no infrastructure could support the application. It’s reckless to allow to build 26 rooms boarding house in 650 square metres land in such small community.

I strongly disagree to this application , I can’t imagine this 5 story apartment on this street, it blocks the sunlight to nearby house, it’s not acceptable. It will cause traffic to the neighbouring streets causing congestion. This community is already too much boarding house.

This could make this better fir some worse for others, but what we experienced in Rippon Avenue was the DA was pushed through then surprise surprise 12 months later the developer applied for and was granted a council release from providing low cost rent and then could charge full market rent. Essentially by passing the DA process for an ordinary block of flats.

Good rort if your in on it..

The proposal for a boarding house or any multi residence of that size and occupancy is inappropriate for that location.
The street itself is unable to cope with the traffic that is already generated from residences already established.
Directly opposite the street entrance is the main gate for Telopea Public school, meaning traffic and pedestrian activity on the corner and surrounding area is increased above and beyond its capacity twice a day.
I feel the increased risk to people’s safety and increased congestion due to traffic is far too great to approve such an application.

I strongly oppose this development application.
Cunningham street is very narrow and simply could not accommodate the additional traffic this large building would create.
As it is, this is a very busy area during school hours especially at drop off and pick up times making it very difficult to get through. The nearest corner, Cunningham St and Chestnut Ave is a very dangerous corner and this could be worsened due to a constant increase in traffic and on street parking.
I feel a building of this size and type would be better suited to a main street that has ample room and is not right in the vicinity of a primary school.

As a mandatory reporter, working with young children in our community, this proposal brings me great concerns pertaining to child safety and the wellbeing of those accessing both Telopea Public School and the nearby child care centre. As a resident of this street, we have many children commute on foot to school, such a development poses an immediate risk to their safety and increases the need for adult supervision, potentially denying young children the right to independence and the development of fundamental lifeskills. How will the safety of our youngest community members be monitored?
Moreso, Telopea has a dense population of people who identify as low-socioeconomic, such a development will further impact the community, and potentially, increase crime rates. How will the safety of our community members be monitored, when there is already enough fear in our community. As a community member, I already exercise safety precautions such as not walking by myself at night, I am 33 years of age and have lived in this area for most of my life. This proposal greatly increases my safety concerns, for me, and my family. Like many, I do not approve of this proposal.
In addition to the above, Telopea is an under-resourced area with minimal access to basic services such as a grocery store and adequate parking for existing residents.

I do not think this development should be approved. The area is coming up and becoming more safe. This will potentially cause more crime and unsafe feelings around the area for the families in the community.

We have a lot of housing commission and affordable housing in the area to accommodate people in need.

Might not be the case here, we had a similar situation in Oatlands. Proposed to convert a heritage house into a boarding house. Lots of uproar from the community. Developer proposed to stop with the application if they could demolish the heritage building! Heard its happened like that in other places

Horrible idea. The safety of people and the community is far more important than this. Telopea is finally starting to develop into a safer and more liveable environment for all residents and this will not add a good impression. It is also to be constructed right next to a primary school of kids that can barely take care of themselves, unless you can guarantee the safety of all these kids and the whole community then it shouldn’t be done.

The area gets crowded occasionally and it is already so hard to navigate around the street. This area is made up of several houses and duplex and i quite like the atmosphere which is why we chose to live here. Adding a whole apartment-building like structure will not be beneficial in anyway. Also the loud construction noises will highly disturb all resistants, people have their own lives and work for focus on, there will be a lot of complaints on this building, it’s not a good investment.

My family does not support this proposed development. We feel very strongly about this, like many others in the Telopea community. The 3 key concerns we have are for:

1. Children’s safety - the boarding house is essentially next to Telopea Public School, creating potential safety concerns for the children. A multi-storey boarding house with 26 rooms and 2 levels of basement parking introduces unnecessary risks to the children of our community.

2. Community environment - The Council has done such a great job developing facilities and a lovely environment in Stuart Park, close to where the boarding house is proposed. The streets around Telopea Public School and Stuart Park are filled with suburban housing and families. The introduction of a 26 room boarding house (not to mention the demolition of trees) completely undermines the pro-family and pro-community environment of our area.

3. Residents and neighbours - As a resident on Cunningham Street, the construction of a 5 storey building will have terrible impacts on the neighbouring houses. The houses on that side of Cunningham Street are mostly 1 storey, and a 5 storey building will block out the natural sunlight. The streets of Cunningham St and Chestnut Ave are already very narrow and tricky to navigate with the parked cars from existing residents. To cram an additional 26 rooms into such a small area would further worsen the parking and road situation - particularly during school runs. The additional cars and traffic would also increase the traffic danger for families and children.

Our concerns here are shared by many others in the community. Less than 2 weeks after this application has been made public, over 20 people have posted in this public forum expressing their grave concerns about this proposed development. (We expect others have written in privately to the Council as well).

We request that the Council strongly factors in the views of the community, and prioritise the children and families of Telopea.

Best regards
A very concerned resident

Billy Hu

Our streets are like that of a bike lane on accessibility as it is! People think the streets are there to personally accomodate their vehicles and their empty driveways for decoration.
The few services in our area are either non existent (supermarket) or already conjested (doctor surgeries) oh but if you want a cake or a beer (or both) - you’re in luck!
I’d suggest grabbing a fold up fishing chair, a thermos of Blend-43 and a $3 clipboard, camp out for a few hours on the suggested location and see for yourself that it’s a bit of a fair weather proposal. Sometimes the juice just ain’t worth the squeeze.

The street is too narrow for a 5 storey building block. Not to mention next to a primary school, it will definitely be difficult for parents to drop off and pick up their children.

Most importantly will be the children’s safety. A congested street will increase the level of road rage due to drivers in a rush. I fear that mistakes will happen and a poor family will suffer from it.

My family do not approve of this proposal.

Thank you.

The street is too narrow for a 5 storey building block. Not to mention next to a primary school, it will definitely be difficult for parents to drop off and pick up their children.

Most importantly will be the children’s safety. A congested street will increase the level of road rage due to drivers in a rush. I fear that mistakes will happen and a poor family will suffer from it.

My family do not approve of this proposal.

Thank you.

As a mum who has kids studying in the nearby Public School, I strongly oppose the building of 5 storey boarding house with 2 level basement car park. The Cunningham Street is already very narrow, the development will bring severe traffic congestion to the road and it is threatening the saftety of the students in the public school and the nearby childcare.

As a local resident in the neighborhood, I strongly oppose this application. The location is too close to school which will disturb young children and create traffic issues.

I wonder if this boarding house application is just an ambit proposal - a similar proposal went in for a property on Lind Ave. That proposal was rejected and the second proposal led to knockdown of heritage house and construction of a large new home- that was subsequently put up for sale. One to watch….