SCENARIO

Your school is 100 years old this year and is in the middle of a neighbourhood which is being re-developed. The school property has water frontage on Sydney Harbour. There is talk of re-developing the school site and turning it into high density housing because it is valuable land for building housing on. The current school layout can be accessed here. The proposed plan for redevelopment can be accessed here. The school has open areas, old buildings, old trees and playing fields and covers about 10 hectares. You want to see it preserved.

You heard somewhere about the time of the Green Bans when people were protesting about the destruction of our built and natural heritage. There were fights over Kelly's Bush, The Rocks, The Franklin River and the Queen Victoria Building. You realise that knowing about these events might help you to protect your school.

But, be careful, you have opposition! Not everyone wants to see the old buildings stay. Some people say they are an eyesore and cost too much to maintain and there is no longer the demand for a school in this area. The students can go to a nearby school.

At the same time that you are trying to find out how to protect your school, other people are looking at ways to get rid of it and use the land for housing. In fact, already such a re-development has been given approval by the local council, as is their right.

The Local Council, a developer and a major local real estate agent all want to see the site re-developed but for very different reasons.

Your only chance to save the school is to appeal to the Land and Environment Court to overturn the development. However, the other interested parties can do and will do the same to protect their proposed development.

Whoever you are, student, council, developer or estate agent, how will you go about achieving what you want? What can you legally do? Who will win?

Now you can proceed with your TASKS.

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