Notre Dame’s expansion plans

The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) was established in Western Australia in 1990, with campuses in Fremantle and Broome. It takes its name and mission statement from its United States founding partner (NDUS), one of the world’s great Catholic universities, and offers courses in the arts and science, teaching, business, law and medicine.

The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, invited UNDA to set up a Campus in Sydney, and the Broadway site was opened in 2006. The Darlinghurst Schools of Medicine and Nursing followed in 2008. The universities in both States receive significant public funding.

On November 3, 2008, the City of Sydney Council approved a Development Application by UNDA to convert a warehouse at 1 Grafton Street into additional lecture and student facilities, operating from 8am to 9pm Monday to Saturday. The warehouse is located in a back street immediately opposite and alongside a large residential area.

The Combined Chippendale Community Groups (CCCG) fear this new site, and the adjoining Buckland Street campus, will merge with other potential sites on Broadway to create an educational complex which will be too dense for the area. David Polkington from the CCCG  said: “We are opposed to a slow incremental expansion which could gradually and subtly take over parts of the suburb to the detriment of residents.”

As a result of objections lodged to Council by the residents, the DA has been granted subject to conditions, one of which is the preparation of a Master Plan by UNDA. This will allow the local community to access the University’s plans for future expansion.

The concerns about traffic congestion have been partly met with the proposed loading zone in Grafton Street and there are to be discussions with the RTA about safety improvements to the Mountain Street crossing on Broadway.

A spokesperson from the University’s Community Relations Department said: “The University actively discourages student parking in the neighbourhood and would welcome any initiative by the Council to deter student parking, for example, half hour parking.”

Currently there is one hour restricted parking in the area and major bus routes and Central Station are nearby. There is also a condition requiring the provision of 26 bicycle spaces on the premises.

Nevertheless, even if students and staff are only being dropped off and picked up, there will be an inevitable increase in traffic flow in the already congested area. The DA states anticipated student enrolment of 520 at Grafton Street but the Notre Dame website (www.nd.edu.au) gives the current combined Sydney Campus numbers as already at 1,700, having grown from an initial intake of 450 in 2006. The webpage adds: “A major capital development program is planned to take enrolment to 5,000 by 2018, at the latest.”

The residents’ group supports Notre Dame’s policy of adaptive reuse of disused buildings, particularly the restoration of schools and churches which are of cultural and historical significance, but objects to a “creeping takeover of nearby properties. It would have been preferable that the Master Plan issue had been addressed before they started [acquiring properties].”

Dr Meredith Burgmann, the ALP Councillor on the City Council, agrees. “I asked the questions about ongoing expansion and traffic problems when the application [DA] was in Committee but the reality is that the ‘Clover Party’ has the overall majority. The Lord Mayor’s group votes as a block and, while I am sympathetic to the Chippendale residents, they have to convince the Lord Mayor of their case.”

The UNDA is holding a public meeting on December 2. Its media department says: “The purpose of the evening is to show residents the University’s immediate and long-term plans, explain anticipated growth of student numbers, the university’s parking policy and public transport subsidy policy.”

Chippendale residents may think this is a case of “too little too late”.

Photo: Andrew Collis - Caption: Site of proposed expansion

Source: South Sydney Herald December 2008 www.southsydneyherald.com.au