Caulfield Grammar in dispute with neighbours again over music and parking

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“People still live there. They deserve to have appropriate facilities and the quiet enjoyment of their street.”

Residents also objected to the loading and unloading of delivery vehicles at Willoby and Harold Avenues, where the school is located.

Stonnington launched a six-month trial in April banning parents from parking outside the school, including on those two streets, in response to residents’ concerns about traffic when picking up and dropping off their children.

Councillors voted in favour of amending the permit to allow delivery drivers to use roadside parking spaces or loading and unloading zones, provided the deliveries are not made simultaneously.

They also limited deliveries by large vehicles to designated parking spaces or the bus zone, and not during peak hours of the school day.

Stonnington Councillor Polly Morgan noted that parents and residents were still experiencing problems with parking outside the school despite the introduction of the trial.

“I’ve heard from some residents that they seem to be doing really well and have really solved some of the problems in the area,” she said.

Morgan said the council had received a lot of feedback from residents indicating the school had not exercised good ‘social responsibility’.

“We can’t cite other potential issues as a reason not to approve something that makes sense from a planning perspective,” she said.

Michael Coates, who has lived across from the Malvern campus, which serves children from kindergarten through sixth grade, for more than 30 years, says the school’s role has changed in that time and residents simply want to work with the school to avoid conflict.

“Back then it was a local school serving local needs, but it’s not that anymore,” he said.

“It’s a big company that attracts students from all over Melbourne.”

According to Coates, residents felt their concerns had been ignored in the past and wanted proper traffic and noise management plans to be put in place.

“The problem that essentially exists in this area is that the neighborhood has absolutely no trust in the school and the school does nothing to address that problem, creating a hostile situation that is simply unnecessary,” he said.

Caulfield Grammar School has over 360 pupils on its Malvern campus and a total student population of 3,324 pupils across its three campuses.

The school has been contacted for comment.

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