A preschool, as well as four new classrooms, have been proposed for West Dubbo Public School.
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The new classrooms would cater for an additional 135 kindergarten to year 2 students and add another 18 members to the school’s staff.
The preschoool, which has been planned for the northern area of the school grounds, will have a capacity of 20 students, overseen by two staff members.
The development application for the preschool and new classrooms will go before Dubbo Regional Council’s Planning and Development Committee meeting on Monday night. Administrator Michael Kneipp will decide if it should be recommended for approval, before it goes before the May council meeting.
If given the green light, the development would double the capacity of the school. The number of students would increase to 325 and the staff to 40.
The classrooms would be an extension of Building C. The plan for the expansion is a double storey, featuring one classroom on the bottom floor and three more upstairs, as well as a central learning common area.
The plan for the preschool is to include a playroom, toilets, kitchen, office and meeting rooms. Outside there would also be a sandpit.
One issue raised about the development has been the increase in traffic it would generate.
In a report to council, planner Alex Noad said the development application “did not propose the construction of any additional off-street parking. Instead, the application proposes alterations to the surrounding street network to incorporate additional on-street car parking and modified bus parking areas”.
A Traffic Impact Statement has shown there is sufficient capacity in the surrounding road network to accommodate the extra traffic the expansion would generate. The school has also developed an on-street parking plan to mark an additional 29 car spaces.
Roads and Maritime Services, and council’s traffic engineer have given their support to the work at the school, satisfied with the plan to deal with the increased number of cars.
Owners of adjoining properties were notified of the school’s building plan, however no comments on the issue were made to council.
The development application has been recommended for approval by council staff, subject to conditions.