“There appears to have been a lot of sneakiness regarding this proposal. There has also been incorrect information given to the planners regarding existing roads, for a better-looking proposal. Ratepayers deserve better than this,” other feedback said.
The plans were approved with conditions on appeal by the Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel, on recommendation from the shire, in April.
Concept plans for the school, drawn up in July 2023, show four soccer fields, sports ovals and a “future community purpose/ auditorium site.”
A final decision on whether the school will go ahead will go before the State Administrative Tribunal in June.
Paul Speering lives less than 200 metres from the proposed site and is leading a group of 65 people opposed to the build.
The initial proposal for the school was rejected by the shire but was later approved. Speering claimed the only difference was plans for a roundabout to manage an influx of traffic in the semi-rural area that 546 parking bays would bring.
Although there are no plans to build a church at the school site yet, Speering believed this could be added in later, and would bring the potential for regular meetings to be held there.
“It’s the only reason I can think of that explains such a large number of bays for such a small school,” he said.
“The school certainly hasn’t given another viable explanation, and they have a church at, or over the road of, all other campuses.
“If I had known [about the school] I would never have moved here.”
Some of the conditions placed on the plans by the DAP, included allowing the community to make use of the school ovals when available and to agree to the establishment of a community reference group “to act as an open and transparent forum for nearby landowners to discuss any issues or exchange any suggested solutions”.
The Free Reformed School Association declined to address specific questions from this masthead on whether a church would be built, what the 546 parking bays would be used for, where its predicted numbers for enrolments had come from, and when the roundabout would be built.
However, in a statement, it said it would work with residents through a community reference group “that is to be established once we are closer to determining the specific timeframes of the project itself.”
Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale President Rob Coales said council had recommended the development panel refuse an initial application due to the “absence of key transport and pedestrian infrastructure being included”.
But he said traffic would be managed appropriately with the inclusion of the roundabout. Council then recommended the panel approve plans with conditions.
“As part of our growing population, the shire supports a range of educational options for our community,” Coales said.
“A transparent, merits-based assessment of the application, considering all relevant planning matters, has been undertaken.”
What is a ‘reformed school’?
A reformed school is “active in upholding government legislation relating to the school and schooling in Australia, in as much as this does not conflict with the Word of God,” according to the association’s website.
It also states it “respectfully and cautiously interacts with those elements of society that are helpful in relation to its educational charter” but “filters or rejects those influences that arise out of society which are contrary to its foundation”.
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The Free Reformed Church – the religion all those at the John Calvin schools follow – originated in the Netherlands and was established in the 1950s in Australia through Dutch immigration.
The church has a number of congregations located throughout the country, with the majority in WA, as well as Victoria, and Tasmania.
The 2021 census reported there were just 2344 members of the church nationally, down from 2355 in 2016.
In WA, numbers have also declined, but the number of church members who live in Serpentine-Jarrahdale has increased.
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