Berwick resident Lorraine Chapman fears school children will be able to see into her backyard after portable classrooms were placed behind her property.
By Rebecca Fraser
A BERWICK resident feels like the walls are closing in on her after two large portable classrooms were placed behind her property last week.
Lorraine Chapman said she was shattered when she went into her backyard and saw the two large schoolrooms casting shadows over her yard.
Ms Chapman said she was reduced to tears when she noticed the portable buildings looming over her backyard.
Her property backs onto Kambrya College and Ms Chapman said she could not believe that the school had decided to place the imposing buildings in a position so visible from her backyard.
Ms Chapman said her family had built the home 15 years ago and she believed the imposing portable classrooms would reduce her property’s value.
She said the construction was an absolute monstrosity and she feared she would end up being boxed in if the school continued to place more portables near her backyard.
“I am so angry. I have got no privacy now. When I went out and saw it I could not believe it.
“This is what I find when I go out my back door. The children in the classroom can see right into my yard.
“Everyone else has to have permits and they (schools) can do what they want. They have no restrictions,” Ms Chapman said.
Ms Chapman said she used to love spending time in her backyard but she now avoided going outside.
She said she had recently negotiated a new six-foot fence with the school after having trouble with students removing fence palings.
“I understand schools have to develop but how far will they go with this?
“I used to love coming out into my backyard but now I have this sitting here.
“It’s really sad. It’s just so unfair. Our privacy is gone. There is no stopping the kids looking over now.
“I am just devastated. I cannot believe they have done this,” Ms Chapman said.
A Department of Education and Training (DET) spokesperson said the college had met Ms Chapman and listened to her concerns.
She said they had agreed on a number of remedies.
These include planting fast growing plants along the fence at the school’s cost to provide a screen and installing blinds in the classrooms facing the property.
Kambrya College has also deemed the area between the portable classrooms and the fence out of bounds to students.
The DET spokesperson said the school was operating within the law when they placed the portables but they were respectful of residents who lived nearby.
