Update

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. All submissions were reviewed and reported to the Environmental Planning Committee on 4 November and Council resolved in its meeting of 25 November 2024 to finalise the Planning Proposal to amend the Woollahra LEP 2014 Schedule 5 to include the two school buildings in Rose Bay as local heritage items. Read the Committee and Council meeting minutes here.

On 14 March 2025, the Woollahra LEP 2014, Amendment No. 41 detailing the addition of the Rose Bay Public School - Building E, and the McAuley Catholic Primary School, Former Christian Brothers College building to Schedule 5, was notified in the NSW Government Gazette. The Amendment can be viewed here.

This planning proposal project is now finalised.

Overview

Woollahra Council recognises the importance of heritage in our unique built environment. Places are considered significant for their heritage values where they have played an important part in our community's history. School buildings can be significant for not only their historic role in a community, but also their architecture, the people who went there, and more broadly the lasting social connection that a community has with it. Heritage listing celebrates these places and encourages the wider community to experience the values that makes these places special.

About the Planning Proposal

We have prepared a Planning Proposal to list the following two school buildings as local heritage items in Schedule 5 and on the Heritage Map of the Woollahra Local Environmental Plan 2014.

  • ‘Rose Bay Public School - Building E, including interiors’ at 21 Wilberforce Avenue, Rose Bay;
  • ‘McAuley Catholic Primary School - former Christian Brothers College building, including interiors’ at 12 Carlisle Street, Rose Bay.

The planning proposal was informed by the Draft Heritage Study conducted by Artefact Heritage, the advice of the Woollahra Local Planning Panel (WLPP), and feedback from owners.

The purpose of the planning proposal is to explain the intended effect of an amendment to the Woollahra LEP 2014. An LEP is a legal instrument that zones land and includes standards and controls to regulate the use and nature of development and the management of land. An LEP can also address matters of heritage conservation.

A detailed description of the heritage significance of each item is included in the Final Draft Rose Bay Schools Heritage Assessment, available to download from the 'Document Library' on this page.

Finalisation

Following the resolution from Council in May 2024, Council staff submitted the Planning Proposal to DPHI seeking a Gateway Determination to proceed with formal public engagement with all affected land owners (and surrounding owners).

The Gateway Determination was received in August 2024, determining that the Planning Proposal should proceed. Council were designated to exercise local plan-making authority functions in relation to the planning proposal.

Public Exhibition of the Planning Proposal ran from 14 August to 15 September 2024 in accordance with the Gateway Requirements. The results of the Public Exhibition were report to a meeting of Council on 25 November 2024, where Council resolved to make the amendment to the Woollahra LEP 2014 and to add the two sites as local heritage items on Schedule 5.

Council staff coordinated the finalisation of the Planning Proposal and the LEP amendment with DPHI and the Parliamentary Counsels Office. On Friday 14 March 2025, Amendment No 41 of the Woollahra LEP 2014 was notified on the NSW Government Gazette. The Planning Proposal is now finalised and the amendment is in force.

Rose Bay Schools Heritage Assessment

In June 2023, Council staff commissioned consultants Artefact Heritage to investigate the heritage significance of the Rose Bay Public School and McAuley Catholic Primary Schools as part of the Rose Bay Public School and McAuley Catholic Primary School Heritage Assessments. The purpose of the Draft Study was to provide information regarding the historic values of each site, and identify if any of the sites contained significant cultural heritage values to warrant listing at either the local or state level. The draft study included the following:

  • a comprehensive historical analysis of both school sites;
  • internal and external site inspections of all buildings on each site;
  • a robust comparative analysis of other relevant school examples.

A draft Heritage Assessment report was submitted to Council in January 2024 and the recommendations in the report identify that the following buildings meet the threshold for local heritage listing on the Woollahra LEP 2014, Schedule 5. Heritage listing aims to provide the ongoing protection and recognition of the heritage significance of these sites.

At Rose Bay Public School, it was assessed that Building E meets the significance criteria for its historical, associational, aesthetic, rarity and representative values. It is proposed that this building is locally heritage listed.

At McAuley Catholic Primary School, it was assessed that the former Christian Brothers College building meets the significance criteria for its historical, associational, aesthetic, rarity and representative values. It is proposed that this building is locally heritage listed.

Advice of the Woollahra Local Planning Panel

The draft Heritage Assessment was considered by the WLPP on 18 April, 2024. The WLPP reviewed the Heritage Assessment, undertook a site inspection of both buildings, and considered a draft Planning Proposal to amend the local heritage schedule. The WLPP considered the Planning Proposal to have merit and advised Council to progress with the proposed amendments, noting that two palm trees at the front of Building E also contribute to the landscape setting of the building.

Resolution of the Woollahra Environmental Planning Committee, and full Council

The advice of the WLPP was considered and the Planning Proposal was updated in order to reflect their comments. The Planning Proposal and supporting documents were then presented to a meeting of Council's Environmental Planning Committee (EPC) on 6 May 2024. The EPC supported the recommendations of the Planning Proposal. The Planning Proposal was then presented to a full meeting of Council on 13 May 2024. At this meeting, the Planning Proposal was supported unanimously by Councillors, who resolved that Council staff should progress the Planning Proposal to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) requesting Gateway Determination.